Shimu, 23, works in a clothing factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Faced with difficult conditions at work, she decides to start a union with her co-workers.
Despite threats from the management and disapproval of her husband, Shimu is determined to go on. Together the women must fight and find a way.
Directed by Rubaiyat Hossain, Bangladesh/France/Denmark/Portugal , 2019, 95min, social drama, English & Bengali w/English subtitles
* Toronto Intl Film Festival - Contemporary World Cinema * London BFI * Stockholm International Film Festival - Competition Films from the South
Who gets to decide how a nation remembers its past?
When Indonesia declared independence in 1945, the Netherlands responded with a military campaign that the Dutch government described not as a war, but as “police actions” intended to restore order. For decades, that language helped shape public understanding of the conflict and obscured questions of colonial violence, accountability, and responsibility.
Using extraordinary archival footage—much of it produced or controlled by Dutch authorities—filmmaker In-Soo Radstake investigates how the government presented the war to its own population and constructed an official narrative around the conflict. Often shocking images reveal a striking gap between that narrative and the realities on the ground.
Through interviews with international historians and experts, Selling a Colonial War places the Indonesian struggle for independence within the broader history of European colonialism, decolonization, postwar geopolitics, propaganda, and historical memory.
The film also raises questions that extend far beyond the Netherlands and Indonesia: How do governments shape public understanding of war? Who determines what enters a nation’s official history? What happens when archival evidence challenges the story a country has told about itself?
At a time when the teaching and presentation of national history are being fiercely debated in the United States and elsewhere, Selling a Colonial War provides a compelling case study for examining the relationship between political power, media, historical memory, and the writing of history.
Recommended for courses in: History • Colonialism & Decolonization • Southeast Asian Studies • Media & Propaganda • Political Science • Postcolonial Studies • International Relations • Archival Studies • Memory Studies
Netherlands / Indonesia, 2024, 105 min. Documentary | English, Indonesian and Dutch with English subtitles Directed by In-Soo Radstake
World Premiere: International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) – International Competition Winner: Beeld & Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award for Creative Use of Archive
"Selling a Colonial War looks to encourage the Dutch government and society to accept responsibility for their actions as a colonial power in Indonesia – and especially their actions when fighting a war in Indonesia after the country declared independence in 1945. The Dutch government still refrains from using the term “war crimes” to describe their actions as this would have great impact on calls for reparation."~ Leo Barraclough, Variety
Rhythm of Dammam is the first narrative feature film to explore the distinct cultural identity and historical struggles of the Siddi community in India—descendants of Bantu peoples brought to the subcontinent centuries ago as captives.
The film centers on twelve-year-old Jayaram Siddi, who becomes haunted by his late grandfather’s spirit, pushing his family toward ancestral rituals and the spiritual energy of Dammam music for guidance. The filmmaking itself is notable for its sensitive, immersive quality, carefully avoiding exoticization while establishing a visually rich, rhythmically structured world that elevates the music from mere backdrop to a core cinematic and spiritual force.
The director, an award-winning filmmaker with a deep familiarity with the community, expertly frames the haunting not just as an individual crisis, but as a metaphor for the burden of intergenerational trauma and the communal quest for healing.
As a work that bridges spiritual fiction with documentary realism, Rhythm of Dammam offers rare insight into the African diasporic presence in South Asia, celebrating the Siddi people’s unique devotional music as both a source of identity and a path toward profound spiritual restoration.
USA/India, 2024, 92 mins, drama in Kannada, Urdu (with English subtitles), Jayan Cherian, dir.
About director Jayan Cherian
Jayan Cherian is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker and poet known for his socially and politically committed work. A graduate of Hunter College and The City College of New York, his cinematic focus consistently addresses the complexities of marginalization and post-colonial identity. His previous features, which include the award-winning Papilio Buddha (2013) and Ka Bodyscapes (2016), have screened at prestigious events such as the Berlin International Film Festival. Cherian's films often blend fiction with ethnographic realism, cementing his reputation for creating formally ambitious works that challenge cinematic and social conventions.
"Jayan Cherian's film blends realism with surrealism to produce a strikingly vivid image of the Siddi community's intergenerational trauma." ~ The News Minute
“A mesmeric journey through the Siddis’ past and present.” ~ Swaroop Kodur, The News Minute
“An exceptionally evocative, visually arresting film … Hitting all the right notes.” ~ Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV
“A beautiful attempt in surreal documentation of a marginalized community.”~ Amartya Acharya, High On Films
