The never-say-die spirit

Navnee Likhi

THE documentary filmmakers play a vital role in telling true stories of people and their lives that cut through the clutter and help us to understand the reality of tough situations they face. 

Collective trauma 

Documentary One Child Nation, directed by Nanfu Wang, centres around Wang’s own story of growing up under China’s 30-year-long one-child policy. The film brings awareness about how this policy encouraged the birth of only male children as unwanted baby girls were given up for adoption. The film is a deeply moving account of social experiment gone wrong. The film depicts the harsh reality behind the Chinese government’s policy. There were abandoned baby girls, forced sterilisations, numerous forced abortions and human traffickers who sold abandoned baby girls to orphanage homes. 

Nanfu visits her native village and talks to her family members. Her mother recalls how village officials ordered her sterilisation after Nanfu’s birth but was saved as the rules were less rigid in remote rural areas. There are heart-wrenching stories of other family members. An uncle abandoned his infant daughter, who did not survive. Another aunt gave away her daughter to a human trafficker. No one had the guts to criticise the policy that was discontinued in 2016.  

Fighting the odds

Directed by Rachel Lears, Knock Down the House depicts real-life stories of four trailblazing women who contest elections to fight for their communities after elected leaders have let them down.

It starts with the story of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (29), who works as a waitress in Bronx, New York. She works double shifts to support her family, as do many of her neighbours, who are also hard pressed to make a living. In order to give representation to her marginalised constituency, she decides to run for the Congress as a Democrat representative from Bronx. She is joined in this race by three other women from across America, who carry the mantle of working class. Cori Bush is a nurse from St. Louis, Missouri; Amy Vilela, a chief financial officer is a grieving mom from Nevada and Jean Swearengin is a coal miner’s daughter from West Virginia. These women despite having limited resources put up a tough fight against their opponents, raising issues that affect the common and usually voiceless people — health insurance, employment, environment, immigration rules. Knock Down The House is an inspiring story of grassroots women candidates who challenge local male incumbents. 

Flight for survival

Directed by Hassan Fazili, Midnight Traveller is a first-hand account of his and his family’s perilous journey as Afghan refugees. Besides, a passion for making films, Hassan and his wife Fatima, operated an art cafe in Afghanistan. In 2015, Hassan made a film, Peace in Afghanistan. It profiled the life of a Taliban commander who laid down arms to live a peaceful civilian life but was murdered because of this. Hassan is targeted by Taliban on seeing the film. They want to kill him and his family. He flees along with Fatima and two daughters Nargis and Zara to Tajiskistan where they stay for a year. Their applications to seek asylum in different countries is rejected. The film opens on the day before they are deported back to Afghanistan by an order of the Tajikistan Government. Despite the dangers involved, the family decides to undertake an illegal route to Europe, in the hope that once they reach there they will be able to plead their case. The family faces threats from human traffickers as they extort money from them. 

The film has been shot on iPhone by Hassan and his family. Hassan arranged for flashcards to be smuggled to his contact Emelie Mahdavian, who is a film editor. The film was shot over the course of two years. Given the limitations of filming their journey, Midnight Traveller captures their flight for survival quite well.