1994, 87:00 minutes
Narmada: A Valley Rises is beautifully photographed, inspiring film. It documents a 200 kilometre non-violent Gandhian march involving 6000 participants. The film offers a compelling and intimate portrait of a unique movement while raises critical and universal issues of human-rights, social justice, and development within a democracy.
Reviews
“Polished beyond its low-budget means, this film stands in the best tradition of committed film-making. For anyone worn down or cynical about social struggle, Narmada shows how it can be both effective and inspiring. Like most successful recent documentaries Narmada builds a narrative and introduces characters that carry an audience through a complex thicket of issues.”
— NOW Magazine, February 2–8, 1995, Canada
“In a brilliant, moving depiction of anger and discontent the inhabitants of the valley come to life in their struggle against a perverse, warped concept of development.”
— Sunday Magazine, January 22–29, 1995, India
“The strength of Kazimi’s documentation does not lie in the dehumanizing objectivity of a statistician. It lies in the filmmaker’s commitment to humanism which makes the documentary not a transient social statement but a work of art which transcends time.”
— The Hindu, January 8, 1995, India
Awards
Best Director, Best Political Documentary, Special Mention Best Film, Hot Docs!, 1995
Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival, USA, 1995
Golden Plaque Award, Chicago International Film Festival, USA, 1995
Bronze Plaque, Columbus International Film & Video Festival, 1995
Best of Festival & Environmental Justice Award, Environmental Film Festival, South Africa, 1996
Silver Conch Award & Int. Critics’ Award, Mumbai International Documentary Festival, 1996
Nominee, Best Long Documentary, Genie Awards (Canadian Academy Awards), 1995
Credits
Producer: Ali Kazimi
Director: Ali Kazimi
Writer: Ali Kazimi
Editors: Steve Weslak
Sound: Ravi Sharma
Sound Designer: Steve Munro
Music: Mychael Danna
Distribution
Vtape
Email: info@vtape.org
Telephone: (416) 351-1317
401 Richmond Street West,
Suite 452
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 3A8 Canada
Links
Narmada Bachao Andolan
“Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) is an Indian social movement spearheaded by native tribals (adivasis), farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against a number of large dam projects across river Narmada, which flows through the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.” — Wikipedia.
Oral History Narmada
This website, created by Nandini Oza, shares people’s histories of the mass resistance against the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), a mega dam based project on the Narmada river in India.
The Greater Common Good
A seminal essay about the Narmada movement by Arundhati Roy – “If you are to suffer, you should suffer in the interest of the country.” – Jawaharlal Nehru, speaking to villagers who were to be displaced by the Hirakud Dam, 1948. I stood on a hill and laughed out loud.”
Produced with the generous assistance of Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Telefilm Canada, the Ontario Film Development Corporation’ Non-theatrical Film Fund and the United Church of Canada
