In December, 2020, at the peak of the pandemic, I collaborated with Epsilon Spires, a performing arts venue in Brattleboro, Vermont to curate a virtual movie series called ‘Vidhi’s Bollywood Film Club. I chose each of the films that were then screened on the Epsilon Spires website for a period of two weeks. I recorded cultural introductions to every film that are available for viewing on my YouTube channel below. The screening was followed by a post-film discussion and Q&A session over zoom. I was in India at the time and the film club brought together movie buffs from all over the world who participated in the discussions with their curious questions and astute observations.
As part of the film club, we showed three films online starting with the Bollywood magnum opus, Mughal-E-Azam (1960) followed by the light-hearted Golmaal (1979) and concluded with the endearing English Vinglish (2012). Owing to the success of the film club, I also received a grant with the help of Epsilon Spires from the local non-profit called the Arts Council of Windham County. With the grant money, we were able to show Ship of Theseus (2013) outdoors as part of the Backlot Cinema at Epsilon Spires in the summer of 2021.
The film club was a memorable experience connecting with movie enthusiasts from all over the world. If you would like to host an Indian film club in your community, please get in touch with me on vidhisjukebox@gmail.com.
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