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I hope to stay away from stereotypes: Ali Kazimi

Firdaus Ali in Toronto

He's taken a shot at everything. From flowing rivers to famous personalities. He's perhaps the only Indian filmmaker to make a film on yet another Indian, the original inhabitant of North America - the Red Indian.

Ali Kazimi is an avant-garde filmmaker who has the conviction to film what he believes in. Kazimi came to Canada when he was 22. Since then, he has captured many a heart-rending image on celluloid.

Born and raised in India, he is a science graduate from St. Stephen's College in New Delhi. Way back in 1983, he won a scholarship to attend the film production program at York University in Canada. Since then, Kazimi has worked as a writer, director, cinematographer and producer on several international and ambitious projects.

His debut as a filmmaker began with his docu-drama Narmada: A Valley Rises, which touched people's hearts with its sincere approach and unbiased stand. It won several major international awards at the Chicago and San Francisco film festivals, not to mention the Silver Conch Award and the International Critics' Award at the Mumbai Film Festival in 1996. The film was about the fight for the heritage of a land and its river.

Though Narmada was a film about India and its people, it was never shown on Doordarshan, for reasons best known to the bureaucrats. "It was telecast over six times on Canadian television, but those who were concerned with the subject never got to see my film," laments Kazimi, his voice filled with irony.

Another claim to fame was the Genie award-winning and internationally acclaimed film A Song For Tibet, of which he was associate producer and cinematographer.

A more recent film, shown at the Toronto Film Festival a few years ago, is Shooting Indians. It is also a film based on 'an obsession'. It deals with the native issues of Canada, dwelling extensively on the original settlers of Northern America, the Red Indians.

Kazimi, incidentally, was the only filmmaker of Indian origin, besides Mani Rathnam, whose film (The Duo) was premiered at the Toronto Fest that year.

With Narmada and Shooting Indians, Kazimi convincingly managed to compare the parallels in the two countries -India and Canada. Each film talking about a struggle for inheritance, existence and recognition between the new and the old.

Narmada went on to bag prestigious awards in the international circuit, including one for best direction, best political documentary and, till date, keeps getting invited to global festivals.

Kazimi had earlier worked as a film and video instructor, holding key portfolios in the Film and Video Alliance and the Canadian Independent Film Caucus - both seminal arms of the Canadian Film industry. His forte lies in seeing a sensitive issue from an international perspective.

His distinctive style of filmmaking, accompanied by a globally relevant script, makes his work a winning combination. It's perhaps his expertise as a cinematographer that helps him capture the soul of picturesque locales. Explanatory footnotes and in-depth narration make Kazimi's films an honest and impressionable expression of art.

As a cinematographer, he has worked with several independent Canadian filmmakers like John Grayson (After the bath), David Adkins (Jim loves Jack), Helen Lee (My Niagara) and Loretta Todd (Forgotten warriors) among others.

But he likes Shooting Indians the most because it explores the relationship between a filmmaker and his subject, and is unlike any other film of its kind. A 56-minute documentary, the film took over 12 years to make. It is full of quiet insights and surprising twists.

The film is about an Indian shooting an Indian. In other words, Kazimi films photographer Jeffrey Thomas, who is taking a shot at the lives of the Red Indians. So, we actually have an Indian shooting an Indian who is shooting an Indian.

"I found a lot of common ground between Jeffery and myself. For a start, we were both urban Indians, alienated from our native and ethnic cultures," recalls Kazimi.

Kazimi's more recent work, a documentary on arranged marriages among second-generation South Asians in Canada, was telecast by the Canada Broadcasting Corporation. It brought old traditions and matchmaking games alive in a world full of dating services.

"I hope to stay away from stereotypes," adds Kazimi, talking about the film that has open dialogue and intense tête-à-têtes with people who favour arranged marriages. The film captures the irony, fun, and dilemmas of these marriages.

From rivers to Indians to arranged marriages; who knows what will be Kazimi's next subject. But whatever it is, we can certainly expect a good film.

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