This film was made by three Slovakian students that I met during my first hour in India. I arrived in Mumbai at around 1am and after booking into one of the cheap guesthouses I went for a walk. It was dark, Mumbai was asleep, someone let me into a dark room that was supposed to be an Internet café. For a moment I became scared of the darkness and the stranger who was leading me through the space. Then another door opened and when I walked in it turned out to be a bright room with computers and a group of westerners. I felt relived to see them.
They were traveling through India, filming a documentary. The film was supposed to be some sort of record of their journey. It was their first time in India too.
Without an initial plan, I decided where to go each morning. I was meeting different people on my way everyday. So did the filmmakers. I often followed the same track as they did (the tourist track) encountering similar situations to the ones they encountered. However, at the time it felt as if it was my own trail, a very special one.
I have returned to India two times after that trip. Both times to work on an art project. How different India and Indian people became in my eyes. How complex, sometimes difficult to understand. The class divisions, the inequality of life and my own presence there all puzzled me. I still have many of the same questions.
What I find very interesting is that by trying to understand "there" I am inevitably decoding "here".
I also frequently wonder about the words "cultural differences". Is it that we sometimes use them to cover things up? Explaining things, without really explaining anything. Rather, getting rid of responsibility, or discomfort.
I've wondered off a little. I posted the film because it seems to picture an honest way, that first time in a land, which feels "exotic". While aiming to see as much as you can, decoding and attempting to understand you are equally falling into cliché that are constructed, often unconsciously, by your own prejudices.
They were traveling through India, filming a documentary. The film was supposed to be some sort of record of their journey. It was their first time in India too.
I have returned to India two times after that trip. Both times to work on an art project. How different India and Indian people became in my eyes. How complex, sometimes difficult to understand. The class divisions, the inequality of life and my own presence there all puzzled me. I still have many of the same questions.
What I find very interesting is that by trying to understand "there" I am inevitably decoding "here".
I also frequently wonder about the words "cultural differences". Is it that we sometimes use them to cover things up? Explaining things, without really explaining anything. Rather, getting rid of responsibility, or discomfort.
I've wondered off a little. I posted the film because it seems to picture an honest way, that first time in a land, which feels "exotic". While aiming to see as much as you can, decoding and attempting to understand you are equally falling into cli
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