About

The Bamboo Flute is Kumar Shahani's cinematic tribute to the flute and its importance to Indian civilisation. Shahani depicts the flute — from its bamboo form (the bansuri) to the classical metal instrument (the veena) — as a primordial interpreter of natural sounds facilitated by human breath. It has been used throughout the history of the subcontinent to stimulate thought and heighten perception, and is written into Krishna's experience of waking into an auditory world. The Bamboo Flute transforms auditory experience into a non-linear narrative, using synaesthetic images and motifs. The film's visual sequencing is informed by the structure of classical bansuri music.

The Bamboo Flute will screen from a 35mm print, part of the Queensland Art Gallery Collection.