Recently, I accompanied investigative journalist Trevor Aaronson and Business India journalist Siddarth Philip to the Vidarbha region of central India. Over the last decade, approximately 200,000 cotton farmers have committed suicide in this region. An epidemic which goes unnoticed, this photo series chronicles our findings.

Currently trickling in…

View the photos on Flickr. Click on the image to take you there.

New and old projects in 2009. Worked on an short narrative animation piece by some friends in Mumbai and Kolkata. More Bengal Stories coming sometime soon (vague, but not for long).

Meanwhile. Travelling with a friend through Northeast India, specifically in Sikkim. Look for pictures here from this trip (Feb), as well as new pictures! Attending Joydeb Mela (Festival) in Kenduli, Birbhum.

After completing my residency program with the Tribeca Film Institute’s Tribeca Teaches Youth Program, a few students, Jane Rosenthal (co-founder Tribeca Film Festival) and I were invited onto The Today Show to discuss the experience of working on documentary films. The Today Show is a nationally syndicated morning show on NBC. The five minute segment was shot live at Rockefeller Center in May 2008.

Click here to view the segment. OR click here to view my post on the Tribeca Teaches Program.

Pitchfork media just came out with a list of its top 40 videos for 2008. Efterklang’s Cutting Ice To Snow made that list along with videos for Bjork, Beyonce and Arcade Fire. We ranked very high on that list!

Click here to see them.

I am very proud to report that the award winning feature documentary, “In A Dream” directed by Jeremiah Zagar has been shortlisted for an Academy Award for 2009. I had the honour of working on this film for 7 months, 6 days a week, over 10 hours a day and can honestly say that I never got bored or stressed, and am truly humbled to have been a part of it. Nominations are announced late January 2009 – let’s keep our fingers crossed!

In A Dream Official Website

Herzliya Films Website

Visit Photo Collection link OR http://photo.angshumanghosh.com for a constantly evolving collection of photographs from all my travels around the globe.

Herzliya Films in association with Red Light Films

Director: Jeremiah Zagar

Producer: Jeremy Yaches

Executive Producer: Ross Kauffman, Pamela Tanner Boyll, Geralyn White Dreyfous

Director of Photography: Erik Messerschmidt

Editors: Keiko Deguchi, Jeremiah Zagar

Format: HDCAM (35mm, 16mm, Super 8mm, 24p DV, DV, Animation)

Runtime: 78mins

Awards/Screenings:

SXSW 2008 (World Premiere) – Audience Award

Philadelphia Film Festival – Best First Film and Technical Achievement Award

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival – Emerging Artist Award

Rooftop Films/Woodstock Film Festival/Maui Film Festival/Bend Film Festival/San Francisco Documentary Festival/Sheffield Doc Fest/Rehoboth Beach Film Fest/ Rendezvous With Madness Film Fest.

Here is the trailer:

Tribeca Teaches : Films in Motion

This past year, I was a Teaching Artist at the Bronx Preparatory Charter School in association with TFI’s Youth Programs. ‘The Stereotype Project’ focused on four themes: Education, HIV/AIDS, Violence and Environmental Sustainability within the South Bronx community.

As a Teaching Artist, my role involved guiding 6th graders through the technical aspects of documentary filmmaking, while simultaneously providing them with the tools to become active listeners, consider alternate ‘ways of seeing’ and engage the issues surrounding their community from all perspectives.

“These films address who these students are, where they are from, how people perceive them, and most importantly, how they perceive themselves.” TFI – Youth Programs

Visit and watch The Stereotype Project.

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