About

I have a feeling that the really crucial moments in a film should be wordless. The really crucial transitions and climaxes, where you want to make a crucial point – it's better if it's made visually rather than verbally.

Two 1964

Two will screen from an archival 16mm film print.

Two was commissioned by a US public television service for the theme of 'World Theater' and is a concise and wordless short fable about humanity's tendency to compete rather than feel compassion. The film focuses on the tension between a rich child and the boy who lives outside his window in a slum. What begins as a game of one-upmanship between the two children soon turns to rivalry.

Sikkim 1971

Sikkim will screen from an archival 35mm film print.

The Himalayan state of Sikkim is a stunning mountainous landscape and is culturally unique due to its coexistence of varied religions and ethnicities. Satyajit Ray crafts a visually poetic documentary that does not shy from capturing the incredible beauty or the economic troubles of the land. Ray was commissioned by the Chogyal (King) of Sikkim to make a film that promoted the country with the tantalising promise that the director would have full creative control. This freedom didn't fully eventuate as the Chogyal intervened in the final edit and later the film underwent further censorship when the Indian government banned it before it was released. During the making of the film, a referendum was held in Sikkim and the country became part of India in 1975. The Indian government was apprehensive about audiences' reaction to the documentary and did not allow it to be released due to concerns about highlighting Sikkim's poor contrasted against the wealth of royalty.

Ages 12+