Harkat is a boutique arts studio, film production company, artists analog film lab and an alternative performance space and theater in Mumbai. It is a collective engaged in making handmade films, installations, expanded cinema performances and running the 16mm film festival for the past 6 years. One of the center-stones of the lab is ‘India on film’ - an attempt to find an Indian voice in the world of ‘experimental’ and ‘avant-garde’ film. A proposition of the replacement of the word experimental with sanskrit ‘prayog’. Harkat regularly hosts workshops, screenings and residencies with a view to make the medium more accessible and to function as an incubator for new ideas on film. It is an intended counter culture to the very commercial industry work which makes Harkat sustainable and possible.

Sequences, 16mm film workshop

This introductory shoot-to-develop workshop covers the basics of working with16mm film and cameras, culminating in a community made film. It’s designed like a sequence, where a simple prompt functions as an invocation to a domino effect. The workshop has basic film theory interwoven through the day, covering simple aspects of basics of the medium and gauges, medium manipulation, the world ofexperimental film and what it means to choose a medium for ones’ ideas. Overall, it’s a hands-on physical workshop, connecting the idea of making moving images to making with one’s hands. The idea is to create a safe space for makers with all the tools required for their craft. We are opening the doors to our studio and intend to not only give physical access to the lab but also mentorship, support and guidance to see the projects through to exhibition. As a collective, we are determined to take our work to a global audience and have had our work regularly show at festivals and exhibitions.