The residents of Sion-Koliwada are holding a film festival protesting the demolitions that were carried out on their homes on May 29. The residents allege that the demolitions were illegal and that they were subjected to police brutality after the demolitions. They claimed that following the demolitions 25 peaceful protesters were lathi-charged upon and detained by the police.
The unique festival began on June 7 and will be on till June 12. The films are being shown on a white banner that was displayed over the already demolished homes, with the rubble from the demolition still strewn beneath the feet of people watching the films. However, the police stopped the screening on Day One as they did not have requisit permission. They are now screening the films on a television at the same location.
The festival will show films based on the working classes of Mumbai. The films include Bombay Hamara Shahar and Occupation Mill Worker made by the National Award-winning filmmaker Anand Patwardhan. Other films include Annapurna by Paromita Vora and Girni by Umesh Kulkarni. After the screening of the films, discussions on self-development will be held where slum dwellers can find alternate means of developing their homes rather than falling prey to the SRA-builder nexus.
“We are showing films from the 1980s and a film like Bombay Hamara Shahar by Anand Patwardhan is very relevant to the current situation that the slum dwellers are facing. It is a motivation for the residents whose homes were razed. We are also holding discussions with slum dwellers from Juhu-Koliwada who went for a self-development model instead of the current SRA one and are very happy with the deal.”