NEW DELHI: Open Frame, the annual festival of short films and documentaries, will conduct several workshops this year instead of showcasing films.  

Organised by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), the festival will be held at the India International Centre in Delhi from 26 August 26 to 2 September.

The first workshop is on ‘Documentary: History and Art’ by former National Film Archives of India director professor Suresh Chhabria. The Workshop will examine some basic principles of documentary filmmaking.  Among its various functions have been those of exploration, advocacy, promotion, self-reflexivity and political activism.

The workshops also include ‘Documentary Film Appreciation’ by Ajit Duara on 27 August. The idea of this workshop is to demonstrate that the development of an interesting film narrative is the variable that distinguishes a stylistically evolved director. Duara has been a film critic for a number of publications over the years and presently reviews for Open Magazine.

PSBT is a non-governmental, not-for-profit trust with the mission to create and sustain a credible space for public service broadcasting in India which is independent, participatory, pluralistic and democratic, distanced from commercial imperatives and state/ political pressures. It’s objective is to mainstream the Indian documentary segment and empower independent filmmakers by commissioning and mentoring films from across the country.