A Kali Temple Inside Out

Dipesh Kharel,  Frode Storaas                          83  Minuten

Religiöse Grenzen sind nicht so scharf und antagonistisch, wie die Nachrichten uns glauben machen. Der Film zeigt den Alltag in und um einen Kali-Tempel in der Stadt Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Indien. Das Tempelgebäude beherbergt einen Kali-Schrein und einen kleineren Hanuman-Schrein. Das Portrait eines Priesters und dreier Anhänger zeigt die Bedeutung des Tempels. Gelegentlich besuchen sie aber auch heilige Stätten anderer religiöser Traditionen, um mehr zu lernen oder zusätzliche göttliche Unterstützung zu ersuchen. Der Film ist somit eine stille Kritik an der Besessenheit von religiösen Konflikten in zeitgenössischen Debatten. „Gott ist eins, die Religionen werden von Menschen gemacht“, schließt der Priester im Film.

Video abspielen

Im Fokus von « A Kali Temple Inside Out » steht ein allgegenwärtiges Thema, die Religion. Aber auch Hoffnung, Ungerechtigkeit und Lebensverhältnisse sind Themen, zu denen sich die Protagonist*innen austauschen. Im Film gibt es keine aufwändigen Szenen, sondern das Geschehen wird natürlich und verständlich dargestellt. Dies führt dazu, dass die Zuschauer*innen in den Film reingezogen werden und so das Gefühl haben das Geschehene hautnah miterlebt zu haben. 

Video abspielen

Im Fokus von « A Kali Temple Inside Out » steht ein allgegenwärtiges Thema, die Religion. Aber auch Hoffnung, Ungerechtigkeit und Lebensverhältnisse sind Themen, zu denen sich die Protagonist*innen austauschen. Im Film gibt es keine aufwändigen Szenen, sondern das Geschehen wird natürlich und verständlich dargestellt. Dies führt dazu, dass die Zuschauer*innen in den Film reingezogen werden und so das Gefühl haben das Geschehene hautnah miterlebt zu haben. 

Q&A

What is your understanding of an „ethnographic film“ ?

Films dealing with people are in a way ethnographic, thus the definition of ‘ethnographic’ and ‘anthropological films’ are many. Generally, an ethnographic film may show in detail how people live, influenced by their economic, social and cultural environment. Our film A Kali Temple Inside Out is an example of a film based on anthropological fieldwork and research. It is shot and edited in an observational style. The theme of the film was decided before the shooting, but we did not start with a manuscript. The story developed during the periods of filming. We followed activities of possible interest and persons who we saw could communicate to an audience our understanding of what was going on. Basically, we have aimed at recording the story from the actors’ point of view, how they define their world, and act and react on it. Anthropological insight and analysis guided the framing of what was recorded and later how the film was edited, what sequences were included and how they were connected and organized. By avoiding filmic devices such as voice over, music track and crosscutting, and by ‘moving in’ with the camera rather that ‘zooming in’, we tried to position the audience close to the events and the people. The aim was to invite the audience to the temple and the sites we visited, meet the people we met and share our experience of being there. By ‘showing’, rather than ‘telling’ our story, we open for various interpretations of the film, however, by the way the film is structured, the audiences are guided to how they make sense and understand the film.
When Amma, the lady who clean in the temple, watched the result, she said ‘the film shows the reality, our lives, how it really is’.
That is what ‘ethnographic film’ can be.

Why did you choose the subject of your film?

The anthropologist, Kathinka Frøystad, led a project called Indian Cosmopolitan Alternatives – Ritual Intersections and the Regulation of Religious Offense. This project examined the outcome of ritual intersections and the regulation of religious offence, both of which are far more prevalent in India than in contemporary Euro-American contexts.
As previous research has shown, sacred Sufi tombs and Muslim mystics are still consulted by people from variegated religious backgrounds, many Hindus still incorporate the Sikh gurus and Jesus in their everyday ritual invocations and some Muslims still turn to Hindu goddesses for protection. But how do such ritual crossings “work”? And how do they promote interreligious understanding beyond the ritual moment?
Kathinka saw the film ‘Tama Gaun – the Copper Village’, a film Dipesh and Frode had made based on archaeological and anthropological research in Nepal. Inspired by that film, she saw a possibility to produce an ethnographic film based on her research in India.
Thus, in the context of increasing religious conflicts in the contemporary world, the film’s main subject was to show how followers of Hindu Goddess Kali cross over to non-Hindu sacred places in pursuit of divine blessings and knowledge.

How long have you been in the region?

The anthropologist had worked in India since the early 1990s.
The filming took place in three periods over two years, all together about ten weeks.

What did you personally learn from the production of your film?

It is always the people we meet that make the strongest impression when working with projects like this film.

How did you achieve getting the protagonists in front of the camera?
For instance: Did you have the feeling that the camera was creating a distance between you and the protagonists?

The filmmakers were introduced to the site and the people by the anthropologist who had worked there over years. The close relationships and trust already established by the anthropologist were decisive for our access to people and their activities. When you show interest in people’s lives in a respectful way, they open up and you are invited in. This was certainly the case for us in this project. Even moving close with the camera did not cause negative reactions. Our experience was that the camera rather worked as a catalyst for invitations to events. The camera provided us with ample opportunities as a medium of inquiry and communication with informants and as a way of obtaining more information from them.
For anthropologists, whether using a camera or not, the most important tool is one’s personality, body and mind. Being easy-going and nice, openminded and trustful, while being reflecsive and analytical, are all important qualifications for an anthropologist.

Are you planning on producing similar films concerning style and subject in the future?

Yes. We are planning to make another ethnographic film utilizing our ethnographic audio-visual data collected during the earlier fieldwork.

Is there any advice you would give future ethnological filmmakers?

Start with fieldwork, build knowledge of what is going on and establish good relationships. Then look for insightful stories that can be told with a camera. And wait for story with patience while doing fieldwork.

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