1984, WHEN THE SUN DIDN'T RISE
A documentary on the survivors of the Genocide of Sikhs in 1984 in Widows Colony, New Delhi
1984,WHEN THE SUN DIDN’T RISE
SYNOPSIS
Every evening women from the Sikh Widows Colony bond and share their memories. They are nestled away from the so-called developed Metropolis New Delhi to a rehabilitated colony, which is infamously called Widows Colony. They lost their men who were daily wage earners in 1984 when almost 30,000 Sikhs were killed all over India by violent mobs after the assassination of Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
Three decades later, a journey begins to connect with the women and children living in a Sorority and a ghetto of a kind to know their journey and impact of violence. The film is slice of life of three brave women who negotiate their memories each day to live and earn bread for their families while fighting for justice.
DIRECTOR’S PROFILE
Teenaa Kaur Pasricha is a National Award winning filmmaker and Screenwriter, and a Breast Cancer Survivor. She is having a wide range of experience from screenplay writing to documentary genres Social Justice, Wildlife conservation to Environment. Her films have been broadcast on National Geographic, Fox History, Doordarshan, PSBT India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Environmental NGOs and received grants from BUSAN International film festival. ‘1984, When the Sun didn’t Rise’ is the recipient of National Film Award for Best Investigative film in 2018. It is a narrative based on the lives of three Sikh women living in the Widows Colony of New Delhi wherein more than 3000 families have been living since the massacre of Sikhs in 1984. The film is weaved with personal voice over and uses rare archival footage to braid the past and the present and explore the largest unrecorded massacre in the history of India.
Teenaa was awarded the prestigious fellowship in screen- play writing by Time Warner foundation supported Asia Society, New York for her first feature film screenplay “The Red Autumn” in 2013-14. She has a broad-based back- ground in Television and Media. She has worked with India’s largest Broadcaster, Zee TV as a Promo Producer and a Core team member of Trends Ad films on producing TV Commercials. She studied Film Appreciation from Film and Television Institute India, Pune 2012.
She has studied Post Graduation in Mass Communication from Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi. She is Production and Industrial Engineer from M.B.M Engineering College, Jodhpur (R.E.C).
1984, When the Sun didn’t Rise
1. National Film Award, President’s Silver Medal for the Best Investigative film, 2018 – Producer and Director.
2. Best documentary feature award in DC Asia Pacific Film festival, India in June 2017.
3. IDSFFK Kerala- India Premiere
4. Won the AND fund BUSAN Intl. Film festival
5. Docedge, Kolkata 2012. Doc Wok supported by British Council UK and Doc Leipzig Germany in 2013-2014.
6.Competition in Mumbai International Film festival 2018, MIFF
7. Certificate of Excellence and Special Mention by Indian Documentary Producers Association
8. Jagran film festival, Mumbai.
9. New Narratives film festival, Taipei City, Taiwan.
The film has been screened in top 20 Universities in UK Including Oxford Brookes, London School of Economics and more than 20 public forums in UK. http://www.WhentheSundidntRise.wordpress.com
‘In Symphony with Earth!’ is a documentary based on the communities in India growing natural fibre and a living sustainable life in tune with nature. It was broadcast on National Geographic and Fox History (2012-13).
‘The deer, tree and me’ is a creative documentary, nominated for Best Documentary in Mumbai Intl. film festival, (MIFF) 2016. It was premiered in SIGNS Intl. film festival, Kochi 2015 and also screened in Kolkata International Association for Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) film festival, 2016.
It is the story of a chinkara and a man who fights the hunters to save the chinkara. The film has received critical acclaim and Media Mention, which can be read on Thedeertreeandme.strikingly.com
“The Woods are Calling” is based on an endangered bird called Blyth’s Tragopan and how a community of hunters in Nagaland have transformed to farmers to conserve the Tragopan and their forest. The film has been screened in Dhaka Film festival, Bangladesh 2018,Quotes from Earth film festival, New Delhi 2018, Sun-child International Environmental Film festival, Armenia 2018. Broadcast on DD, the biggest state broadcaster in India.
Her debut documentary film on a martial art form celebration named as ‘Hola! The Mighty Colors’ was a part of Sikh International Film Festival and screened at Asia Society and Museum, New York, 2012. https://www.greenearthpictures.in
MEDIA REVIEWS
AWARDS
JOURNEY SO FAR..
The film won the National Award for Best Investigative film. National Film award is the most credible award given by the President of India.
The film received the Award for Best Documentary Feature held on March 18, 2017 in Washington DC Asia Pacific Film festival.
The film Premiered in Long Documentary Competition of IDSFKK, Thiruvanathapuram, India on June 18, 2017.
‘1984,When the Sun didn’t Rise’ received the prestigious Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Network and Documentary fund “AND” Fund in 2015.
The Work in Progress of the film has been selected “Work in Progress lab” for “DOC WOK” of Doc Leipzig’s International Festival for Documentary and Animated Films 2014.
The promo of the film was selected for DOCEDGE, Kolkata.
PHOTO GALLERY
TRAILER
What if I tell you
During my treatment for Breast Cancer, I realized that no
one wants to talk about “Breast” or Cancer” as there is a
stigma around it. My parents wanted me to forget “it” like a bad
dream.
I wanted to make a film about this subject so that I can choose to express and also find out what is happening in the society.
I want the women to visit mammogram center, like the way I did. I want to normalize Breast Cancer through story telling. One in eight women in India are getting detected of breast cancer each day. Survival rate is low as the disease gets detected late. That is because there is so much shame in the women and even men to talk about women’s health or even “Breast” for that matter. If women accept their bodies and start owning their bodies to an extent of detecting lump in it, I think it would be an achievement. This happened in my own experience when talking to men and women as they didn’t want me to utter the term again.
I am inspired by the works of is Lars Von Trier, who is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. He is the creator of the avant-garde filmmaking movement Dogme 95. One of his best work is Breaking the Wave. I also love the films of Begian – French filmmaker Agnes Varda.
Article in Economic Times