Sanjay Kak (born 1958) is an Indian author, activist and self-taught film-maker. He is known for his documentaries about

environmental activism The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement) is a social movement that aims to protect the natural world from harmful environmental practices in order to create sustainable living. In its recognition of humanity a ...

and resistance politics.

Background and education

Kak was born into a family of

Kashmiri Pandits The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha-Gauda, Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, located w ...

, based in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

for several generations. Kak studied economics and sociology at the

University of Delhi The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

. He is a self-taught film-maker who is actively involved in the documentary film movement and in the Campaign against Censorship and the Cinema of Resistance project.

Career

Kak makes documentary films. His early work includes ''Punjab: Doosra Adhay'' (1986) about the Punjab in the days of the Khalistan struggle, and ''Pradakshina'' (1987), about the river

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

. He followed this with a 1990 film about Cambodia's

Angkor Wat Angkor Wat (; , "City/Capital of Wat, Temples") is a Buddhism and Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia. Located on a site measuring within the ancient Khmer Empire, Khmer capital city of Angkor, it was originally constructed ...

temple, ''Angkor Remembered''. In 1993 he released films about the

Indian diaspora Overseas Indians (ISO 15919, ISO: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) are people of Indian descent who reside or originate outside of India (Including those that were directly under the British Raj). Acc ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

(''This Land, My Land, Eng-land'') and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

(''A House and a Home''). 1995 saw the release of ''Harvest of Rain''. ''One Weapon'' (1997) followed, "the documentary that marked Sanjay Kak as an explicitly political filmmaker", according to ''

The Caravan ''The Caravan'' is an Indian English-language, long-form narrative journalism magazine covering politics and culture. It was initially launched in 1940 by Vishwa Nath, becoming a prominent monthly magazine before ceasing publication in 1988. T ...

'' magazine, and ''In the Forest Hangs a Bridge'' (1999) about the making of a bridge in

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

; winner of the Golden Lotus Best Documentary Film, National Film Awards; Asian Gaze Award, Pusan Short Film Festival,

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. His next films were ''Words on Water'' (2002), about the struggle against the Narmada dams in central India, which won Best Long Film prize at the International Festival of Environmental Film & Video (Fica) in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, and ''Jashn-e-Azadi - How We Celebrate Freedom'' (2007) about the Kashmiri freedom struggle. ''Jashn-e-Azadi'' is a film that has "widely influenced the way Kashmir was perceived in India". The film has had a chequered screening history. In 2008, he participated in Manifesta7, the European Biennale of Art, in

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

, Italy, with the installation ''A Shrine to the Future: The Memory of a Hill'', about the mining of bauxite in the

Niyamgiri The Niyamgiri is a hill range situated in the districts of Kalahandi and Rayagada in the south-west of Odisha, India. These hills are home to Dongria Kondh indigenous people. The hills have one of India's most pristine forests in the interior. ...

hills of Odisha. He writes occasional political commentary, and is the editor of ''Until My Freedom Has Come – The New Intifada in Kashmir'' (2011). His latest feature-length documentary is on the revolutionary Maoist movement in India, called '' Red Ant Dream''. The film was under production for more than three years and released in 2013.

Filmography

* ''Punjab: Doosra Adhay'' (1986) * ''Pradakshina'' (1987) * ''Angkor Remembered'' (1990) * ''This Land, My Land, Eng-land'' (1993) * ''A House and a Home'' (1993) * ''Harvest of Rain'' (1995) * ''One Weapon'' (1997) * ''In the Forest Hangs a Bridge'' (1999) * ''Words on Water'' (2002) * ''Jashn-e-Azaadi'' (2007) * '' Red Ant Dream'' (2013)

References

External links

Official Website of ''Red Ant Dream''/''माटी के लाल''

''Jashn-e-Azadi'' Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kak, Sanjay Living people Kashmiri people Indian documentary filmmakers 1958 births 20th-century Indian writers 21st-century Indian people Film directors from Jammu and Kashmir Writers about the Kashmir conflict Delhi University alumni Kashmiri Pandits Himalayan studies Angkor Wat

Background and education

Career

Filmography

Further reading

References

External links