Dear friends.
We filmed Ananda~ An ode to joy
It became a story of stories profiling working children how they come into i, how they got liberated.
It has been a powerful experience with over 300 child actors give their best talent. It was filmed in a complete Guerilla combat style with a camera. It recorded truthfully the trials and tribulations of toiling struggling children. Twenty of the Bornfree children have been profiled with their true life stories. We are now in the processes of editing and making post production work. We started making Ananda as we hada powerful story to tell and not because we had the funds to make a film. But we are challenged by the lack of Money to complete. It is not so hopeless because we believe in processes of peoples participation in the making of it. And we believe you will support the making of Ananda and become a co producer of Joy
Ananda will be made in a 35mm format in Kannada, Tamil, English and Japanese We have to complete the making of it
We need another 600 000Indian Rupees/ 15 00 000 yen/ 10 000 Euros
Each print will cost Rs 100 000 X 4 versions Rs 400 000.
Editing costs Rs 30 000.
Dubbing Posting music Rs 30 000
Printing and publicity Rs 25 000
Film registration fees Rs 50 000
Postal and shipment costs , festival entry fees, Rs 25 000
honorarium and food for technicians Rs 40 000
Total Rs 6 00 000
Ananda is scheduled to be released on the 6th of August 2010.
Please view the trailer and forward it to your friends and those who want the liberation of
toiling children of the world.
See the trailer on the youtube.
Ananda~ an ode to joy http://www.youtube.com/
Here below is the story of the film
A n a n d a
a biographical film on street kids.
Story. Screenplay Music Cinematography
John Devaraj
Ananda is a biographical work on street kids. Ananda, having been sent out of school worked as a tender coconut chopper forced into this job by his drunken father. Unable to do his homework, he is battered by his teacher. He runs away from school. Joins a bar and restaurant, learns drinking and smoking from his adult customers.
He sees his father among all the drunks; one day he smashes a glass of alcohol on the ground gets kicked out of his job. As he is walking away, he sees a petty shop, He looks at the sweets and is going for it when he sees the cash box open. He grabs as much change as he can, when the man shouts “thief, thief…”, he runs and runs but gets caught. He is jailed. He becomes a confirmed thief. When released, he meets a gang of street kids, and they share their histories.
Ananda has now a veteran of many thefts spots a box n the compound. of a small auxiliary production shed He sneaks to the sleeping security man .Grabs and runs He is chased by the security who then calls the police Ananda puts the box down and examines it, They are real empty brass bullet shells meant for guns It was an auxiliary unit of an ammunition factory
Ananda sells the bullets for its brass value As he walks across a grave yard, a rival gang bashes him up and grabs all his money. He is subsequently arrested.
When he comes out of the jail Ananda realizes crime does not pay. He tries to change his friends through dance, art music. He changes fist fighting feuds to artistic challenges, dancing, sports, drumming, stilt walking, painting, rock climbing. Soon a beautiful culture of freedom and liberation is discovered. As they are moving on in life, they meet a sculptor who is turning a stone into a beautiful figure of art. He exposes them to Art and a philosophy of the world. He helps them to think and makes them see the world better.
They are now cycling and enjoying a new found freedom and they are seeing places. On Republic Day, 26th January, they visit a air show of the Nation. They joining the thronging thousands and shocked to see a whole lot of guns, war planes, blatant display of killing instruments.. The scene in frightening! Bullets and missiles and every shape and size ready to kill. Half a million people are applauding and cheering the thrilling flying machines.
They are angry. As the planes go up and down, they are catching them in the sky and breaking them.
There is flashback of their lives. The scene is frightening. Bullets and missiles and every shape and size ready to kill. Half a million people are applauding and cheering the thrilling flying machines They want to change this! No money for schools, all the money for war.
As they return they stop near a factory and workers agitating for better wages It is a spring factory making springs for AK47 guns. A young trade union woman leader is talking about war and welfare, Education against war, guns versus butter. She is talking about globalization, the impact on the climate the energy spent on human destruction Ananda is listening intently and is motivated . Ananda gets on top of the wall and makes a passionate speech He demands Tell me friends “Who is the greater criminal is it me that stole empty bullet shells for its brass value for my empty stomach or those make real killing instruments, the merchants of death; fill their purses with money by the killing of innocent children? As they are walking down a Botanical garden they see a young woman making dance movements. They are awed with her movement they befriend her and learn that she is from Hiroshima. They appeal to her to teach them dancing. She shares her experience of being from Hiroshima the historic city where the first atom bomb was dropped. They are taken on an intense and deep journey of the effects and aftermath of a nuclear war. They go into a trance of war coming out of it very
Determined to change it. They decide to free all working children from toil. They want to express this Art music and Dance. To produce a culture of liberation. The Bornfree Art school is born free!
And they become talented Artists. Painters dancers mathematicians yearning for knowledge and a new found freedom Students Gaja has become a Gymnast. Santhosh is Moon walking with his horse, Prashanth is drumming .Kiran is sculpting
Ananda and Durga are dancing to Beethoven’s 9th symphony Ode to Joy.
The Making of Ananda
The Bornfree Art school is producing the film through a cooperative ventureof small contributions from Children, Youth and people who believe in the cause of Children’s Liberation. They are the Co producers..Money of a big producer determine the way a film has tobe made Here we will decide to speak the truth without compromise.
The film has been made on a HDV format, a reverse tele cine { RTC} conversion made in 35 mm film format for purpose of showing in cinema houses and festivals.
If a Six hundred friends could contribute 10 Euros the film can be completed.
We appeal for your support.
Contributions by Cheque in India to the Artists United or Gondwanaland Foundation.
21 2nd cross GH Layout 3rd Block East Jayanagar Bangalore 560011
International contributions by bank transfer to
Mioi Nakayama, Citibank Shibuya Branch, Japan Acc number 5285647
Looking forward to your support
mionakayama@gmail,com 9886011830
