Sanjivani, a young widow in rural India, grapples with devastating loss after her husband, a farmer who succumbed to the pressures of rising costs, unyielding crop failures, and volatile market prices, commits suicide – one of thousands each year in India’s agriculture sectors.
Now absorbed into her brother-in-law’s family, Sanjivani and her two children struggle to be seen and respected. Among her myriad of responsibilities, including homemaker, mother and farm-worker for her brother-in-law, Sanjivani’s efforts to regain self-determination and a semblance of control over her life are compounded by the traditional social stigmas and dogmas attached to widowhood in her community.
When Sanjivani cautiously joins a local support group for widows-only, despite having to fabricate excuses to her brother-in-law to explain her absence, she unexpectedly embarks upon a transformative journey of discovery with the other women as they share their grief.
Initially cautious and reserved, Sanjivani is slowly drawn in to the healing power of community; her own grief beginning to heal as she focuses on the others instead of herself. When she summons the courage to unveil her own story, Sanjivani finds inspiration in their shared resilience and empowerment forged from their common experiences.
Each day, throughout the region, more farmer-widows are made – the ever-growing protests and demonstrations doing nothing to stem the political tide at the core of India’s human and agricultural crisis. Can Sanjivani’s newly-found voice shift adversity into opportunity? Are solidarity and friendships enough to quietly fuel a mental-health revolution?
SCREENINGS & AWARDS
World Premiere: CPH:DOX – HUMAN:RIGHTS Competition 2024
2024 Docville (Belgium Premiere)
2024 Hot Docs (North American Premiere)
2024 Docaviv
2024 Biografilm Festival
2024 Dokufest
2024 Silk Road International Film Festival (SRIFF) (Chinese Premiere)
2024 Zurich FF
2024 Human Rights Film Festival Lugano
2024 MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (Indian Premiere)
2024 Inconvenient Films Festival
2024 Sao Paulo IFF- Mostra
2024 DOK Leipzig
2024 Festival Film Dokumenter
2024 Free Zone Film Festival
2024 Dharamshala International Film Festival
2024 Anthropological Film Festival
2024 Moldox (Moldova Premiere)
AWARDS
- Special Mention in HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD Competition at CPH:DOX 2024
“Our special mention is a sensorily stunning piece that honors the relentless work, effort, and strength of women with respect, refuses to play into a simple narrative, and instead celebrates women as they build community and seek a better life for themselves and their families. We are honored to award a special mention to ‘Marching in the Dark’, directed by Kinshuk Surjan.”
Jury Statement
- Best International Film Award at Docaviv 2024
A film that quietly tells the story of a community, of human beings, of earth and soil, asks questions and investigates the forms through which we might renew and regrow. A close, sensitive, smart and tender documentary.
Excerpt from Jury Statement, Best International Film Award at Docaviv 2024
- Young Critics Award at Biografilm Festival 2024
Marching in the Dark blows its conflicts with whispers and silences. With an experience of resistance that is as unprecedented as it is projected to the universal. The resistance of widows who find not simply the strength to react to a bereavement, but the courage necessary to fight against their subalternity. The intimacy expressed by long shots and dilated sequences. The stifled laughter and tears that scream their resistance.Marching in the dark, thus, pierces the veil of the medium, projecting us into a subjectivity, into a struggle, into history. That’s why it’s our winner.
Jury Statement, Young Critics Award at Biografilm Festival 2024
- Audience Award in International Competition at Biografilm Festival 2024
- Special Mention, Documentary Competition at Zurich Film Festival 2024
“Our second Special Mention is more than a special mention. We honestly could not decide between this film and the ultimate winner of the competition. There was a cigarette paper of indecision between them. The film in question is MARCHING IN THE DARK by Kinshuk Surjan. The film craft on display here is of the highest order and it was the most purely cinematic work we saw. Our hearts broke for the Indian village women who have lost their husbands to suicide, but also melted as they found joy in female companionship and shaping their own destinies in a misogynist world.”
Jury Statement, Special Mention, Documentary Competition of the Zurich Film Festival 2024
Selected for Best Documentary category at European Film Awards 2024
- Best Film in the Emerging Filmmakers Competition at Nepatogus Kinas / Inconvenient Films Festival 2024
“A memorable film, with strong story and powerful visual elements. The film serves as creative and powerful reflection on an important issue, inviting viewers to engage with the subject matter on a deeper level.
Its cinematic approach is elegant and organic, with a clear emphasis on analog aesthetics that enhance its authenticity. This gives the documentary a distinctive and immersive atmosphere.
This is a film about unheard voices, about women’s strength and shows how they fight to rebuild their lives.”
Jury Statement, Best Film in the Emerging Filmmakers Competition at Nepatogus Kinas / Inconvenient Films Festival 2024
- Gender Sensitivity Award at Dharamshala International Film Festival 2024
PRESS
Reviews: Thirty-four Flavors, Unseen Films, Hindustan Times, Modern Times Review, Channel Non Fiction, In Their Own League, Overly Honest Reviews, High on Films, Variety (Acquisition Announcement)
Interviews: Business Doc Europe, Delightful Docs
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“There’s a bruised dignity at the heart of Kinshuk Surjan’s documentary.” … “This painfully vital documentary is a stirring declaration that demands we listen to their stories with the generosity they deserve.”
High on Films
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“Marching in the Dark is a moving testament to the unheard voices of so many women like [Sanjivani], and a tribute to their resilience and spirit. There’s a compelling strength at its heart.”
Santanu Das, Hindustan Times
***
“A quiet resiliency, where grief must take a back seat to survival.”
Thirty-four Flavors
“Marching in the Dark offers a compelling portrayal of personal growth, empowerment and the strength found in collective support.”
DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY
Kinshuk Surjan
Kinshuk Surjan is an Indian filmmaker, based in Brussels and Bhopal. His graduation film POLA won the Indian National Student Film Award for Best Film and Best Script in 2013. After working as a 2nd assistant director on the film ISLAND CITY, awarded at Venice Film festival, Kinshuk went to pursue his master at DocNomads. In this period, his short, DIVIDED LINES, was screened at the 2015 Jihlava Film Festival. In 2017 his graduation film THE FLANDRIEN won the Flanders Audiovisual Fund’s VAF “Wildcard” and was later broadcasted on VRT, WDR & CT1. In 2021, Kinshuk participated in Berlinale Talents with his debut feature documentary MARCHING IN THE DARK, that will now world premiere in 2024 at CPH:DOX.
Filmography
THE FLANDRIEN (short – 2017)
CREDITS
Writer, director Kinshuk Surjan
Cinematography Leena Patoli, Carl Rottiers, Vishal Vittal
Editing Joëlle Alexis
Sound recording Puneet Dwivedi, Imtiyaz Jumnalkar
Sound design Mark Glynne, Olmo van Straalen
Producer Evelien De Graef, Hanne Phlypo
Co-producers Arya Rothe, Digna Sinke
Production company Clin d’oeil Films
Co-production SNG Film, NoCut Film Collective
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
New Dawn, Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), Netherlands Film Fund (NFF), Centre du cinéma de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (FWB-CCA), VRT Canvas, Voo & BEtv, Shelterprod, Creative Europe MEDIA of the European Union, DMZ DOCS Fund, Stichting Filip Decock, Fonds Pascal Decroos, In Maat Foundation, La Scam – Brouillon d’un rêve, Belgian Development Cooperation (DGD), De Auteurs
PRODUCER’S BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY
Evelien De Graef
Evelien De Graef is a Belgian producer working for Clin d’oeil films. She graduated as a documentary director at RITCS Brussels (Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema & Sound), after obtaining a degree in Spanish language & literature at the University of Antwerp. Her graduation short documentary ‘Histoire d’un boulevard’ was selected for BREEDBEELD Short Film Festival and the Brussels Festival En Ville!. She participated in fiction projects as 2nd AD and script supervisor and also handled camera and editing for documentary projects. In recent years, Evelien’s focus has gravitated towards producing, where she has garnered invaluable experience across various production companies. Since 2019, she has been an integral part of Clin d’oeil films, utilizing her background as a filmmaker to contribute to both the creative and logistical aspects of production. Notably, Evelien was selected as one of the producers for IDFAcademy 2020 and graduated from Eurodoc in 2021. Her portfolio includes projects like the VR experience ‘Draw for Change: Existimos, Resistimos’, which was selected for DOKLeipzig in 2023. ‘Marching the Dark’ stands as her inaugural feature documentary as a producer, marking a significant milestone in her career. Additionally, Evelien, alongside Hanne Phlypo, co-founded the non-profit organization Blue Bird Docs, dedicated to organizing impactful campaigns.
Hanne Phlypo
Hanne Phlypo is a Belgian producer. Her latest productions DRAW FOR CHANGE (2023), DREAMING WALLS: INSIDE THE CHELSEA HOTEL (2022) and BY THE NAME OF TANIA (2019) premiered at leading festivals and won multiple awards worldwide. Hanne trained as director at the Belgian film school INSAS. In 2010 she founded Clin d’oeil films and has since then produced over 40 films. The company focuses on creative documentaries and author-driven film with a clear preference for films with a social or political statement by innovative filmmakers. Today, Clin d’oeil films is one of Belgian’s most prominent documentary production companies, famous for cinematic films and local stories with a global impact. Hanne is an alumna of EAVE, Eurodoc and a member of the European Film Academy. Together with her colleague producer Evelien De Graef, Hanne cofounded the impact non-profit organisation Blue Bird Docs. Next to filmmaking, Hanne is also teaching producing at the film school INSAS.
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Clin d’oeil films is a Belgian audiovisual company founded from a deep love for film. The company focuses on creative documentaries and author-driven stories with a clear preference for films with a social or political statement by creative and innovative filmmakers. We work in close collaboration with the filmmakers.
Clin d’oeil Films
Belgium
info@clindoeilfilms.be
https://www.clindoeilfilms.be
CO-PRODUCTION COMPANY
SNG Film
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
info@sngfilm.nl
+31 (0)20 686 78 37
https://www.sngfilm.nl/en/
NoCut Film Collective
India
hellonocut@gmail.com
https://www.nocutfilmcollective.com
