The camera makes its way through the labyrinth of corridors in an Indian textile factory. In the darkness, amidst the clanging and the banging, people and machines press patterns into seemingly never-ending rolls of fabric. In the end it becomes difficult to say where the human being ends and the machine begins.
There is surprising beauty to be found in these factories, where the smoke, the dark, and the colours blend into a hypnotic rhythm, almost like a lullaby. Simultaneously, however, the director Rahul Jain does not let the viewer off the hook: while Machines does not dictate what the viewer ought to think or offer ready-made answers to the questions it poses, the sight of a little boy sleeping against the machine he is supposed to operate can’t help but tug at your heartstrings.
The workers in this factory work 12-hour-long shifts, only earning a handful of coins for their labour. They dream of unionising and 8-hour work days. But is it possible to find the courage to stand up and demand change, when doing so might not only cost you your livelihood, but also your life?
Viivi Myllylä / Translation: Oona Juutinen
Language: Hindi
Subtitles: English
- Director: Rahul Jain
- Country: Finland, Germany, India
- Year: 2016
- Length: 75 min
- Age limit: null
- Cinematography: Rodrigo Trejo Villanueva
- Editing: Rahul Jain, Yaël Bitton
- Audio: Susmit ‚Bob‘ Nath
- Production: Rahul Jain / Jann Pictures, Thanassis Karathanos / Pallas Film GmbH, Iikka Vehkalahti / IV FILMS LTD
Showtimes:
- Cinema Artis, hall 2: Saturday 28.01 - 19:00