Around India with a Movie Camera

Sandhya Suri skillfully weaves together archival footage – including hand-colored sequences – with a new score by Soumik Datta to create an emotionally resonant story about life across India from 1899 to 1947. Drawn exclusively from the BFI National Archive, AROUND INDIA WITH A MOVIE CAMERA features some of the earliest surviving film from India as well as gorgeous travelogues, intimate home movies, and newsreels from British, French and Indian filmmakers. Taking in Maharajas and Viceroys, fakirs and farmhands and personalities like Sabu and Gandhi, the film explores not only the people and places of over 70 years ago, but asks us to engage with broader themes of a shared history, shifting perspectives in the lead up to Indian independence and the ghosts of the past.