Seven Hours to Burn
A film by Shanti Thakur
Thomas 110
"Impressionistic cinematography is juxtaposed with searing archival images while spare
narration combines with a nuanced sound design. The viewer is swept into the mood of
the piece and must consider the long-lasting effects--both internal and external --of
conflict and change," Kristine Samuelson, Stanford University.
“Shanti Thakur brings her biracial sensitivies to bear on historical traumas that shaped
her parents' separate, but parallel, experiences. Images of past ethnic and religious
"cleansing" come poignantly to the fore as she sits by her Indian grandmother's corpse
burning on the banks of the Ganges, and seeks peace (her name) for herself, her family,
and the world,” Rosane Rocher, University of Pennsylvania
1999
9 minutes
USA/Canada
Friday April 5
2:00 P.M.
"A visually expressive personal documentary that explores a family's history. Filmmaker Thakur mixes richly abstract
filmmaking with disturbing archival war footage to narrate the story of her Danish mother's and Indian father's
experiences. Her mother survives Nazi-occupied Denmark while her father experiences the devastating civil war in
India between Hindus and Muslims. Both émigrés to Canada, they meet and marry, linking two parallel wars. Their
daughter lyrically turns these two separate histories into a visually rich poem linking past and present in a new
singular identity." Doubletake Documentary Film Festival Catalogue
"Exceptionally imaginative...dreamlike...a visually compelling film," Paul Curci,
Philadelphia City Paper