(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
The Backward Class Director: Madeleine Grant, photo: Nathan Drillot and others India is a huge and diverse country with some profound contradictions. The nation is becoming one of the world's economic powers, but a very large proportion of the population is still living in extreme poverty. The country is also the world's largest democracy, while the old caste system constantly puts considerable restrictions on many of its inhabitants. Admittedly, the Indian Constitution of 1950 – which is built on the French and the American – states that all people are born equal and should have equal opportunities. With this, the caste system was formally abolished and discrimination based on caste was prohibited. The state has gradually introduced a number of measures for positive special treatment for the lowest-ranking, including quoted places at universities and public workplaces. Nevertheless, poverty, stigma and a lack of future prospects are often inherited, and the so-called castless are still largely outside the educational system with the opportunities it provides. The term "dalit", which means suppressed, has now replaced the term "untouchables" – "untouchable" – about those who are at the very lowest on the caste system's rank ladder, which in Norwegian is inaccurately called "caste". However, the official Indian term for the socially and economically least privileged castes is "backward classes", or the collective term "other backward class". Tradition. Therefore, there is a pun in the title of the documentary The Backward Class, which is about the very first casteless school class in Indian history that takes the "National Indian School Certificate exams" – final exams that are a prerequisite for admission to higher education institutions. The film is part of a tradition in documentary film – as far as feature films are concerned – where you follow school children through a certain period of time. Often it is about disadvantaged young people, and often the school has an idealistic teacher or founder. As a rule, these are films of the inspiring kind about young people who defy their marginal preconditions, only a few believe in them and give them the necessary learning environment.
Not only does the entrepreneur want these children to break out of the vicious circle of poverty, rather he wants to see them as heads of state.
All this is true The Backward Class. The film portrays last year's charcoal number one at Shanti Bhavan School, a school established in 1997 by Indian-American Dr. Abraham George. The institution offers housing, food and education to homeless children from the poor areas around Bangalore, whose parents are often illiterate who work hard. As mothers and fathers have often had to work since they were children, many of the students would probably have ended up as body workers or prostitutes if they had not been given a place. Shanti Bhavan School. The idea is that the selected children's eventual success will help the whole family, so to spread the good ripple effects as much as possible, Dr. George and his teachers select only one child per family for the school's limited places. As we know, the world is not fair, but there is at least some solidarity in this. And the entrepreneur's aspirations are not small: Not only does he want these children to break out of the vicious circle of poverty; preferably he will see them as heads of state. Uplifting. A total of 15 students make up the first litter, which in the film has reached its twelfth and decisive school year. Canadian director Madeleine Grant has wisely chosen to focus on a selection of these teenagers, specifically the boys Vijay and Anith and the girls Bina and Mala: four young people, each with their own dreams and ambitions, each with their own personality and family background. Through excerpts from a school assignment, the film's estimates put into words some of these students' hopes for the future. Here we also hear about the limitations that the lack of caste status has caused, not least in their self-image.
Madeleine Grant's documentary is an important reminder that India still has a huge underclass of poor people who cannot benefit from the country's growing economy.
In addition, the filmmaker devotes some space to Dr. George and the school's principal Lalita Law. The latter's decision to quit after dedicating 13 years to the institution creates some of the documentary's more emotional scenes. The founder, for his part, has spent most of his money on school. He says, among other things, that he will sell his house – and hopes to find investors to ensure its continued operation. Although The Backward Class contains some interviews, the documentary approach is mainly observational. The students' preparations for the upcoming graduation exams constitute an effective dramaturgical engine, which creates momentum, excitement and, not least, emotional engagement with the audience. We also get an insight into some strong stories from the students' upbringing. Nevertheless, the film does not dwell on the tragic and tear-jerking, but instead focuses on the opportunities the young people have been given. The backdrop clarifies how much is at stake for the students: If they do not pass the exams and get further into education, they can quickly end up back in the slum areas. Nevertheless, the film draws warm and optimistic portraits of these teenagers, and shows that they are like most young people. Audience Award. The Backward Class won, not surprisingly, the audience award at the important documentary festival HotDocs in Toronto last year. Often it is exactly this kind of heartwarming and motivating films that run away with such awards. The honor is by no means undeserved – although I will not claim to have seen all the other films in the competition. Debutant documentary filmmaker Madeleine Grant gives us an important reminder that India still has a huge underclass of poor, who do not get to benefit from the country's growing economy. At the same time, the film takes us on an uplifting and moving journey with people you genuinely love; young people with clear goals and big dreams that are completely unthinkable for many with their starting point. Then you rather have to live with a certain ambivalence when the scrolling text finally informs you that many of the students have started working in large groups such as Goldman Sachs and Ernst & Young. In any case, it is a victory that they have been allowed to enter the caste system that governs the international economy. Huser is a film critic in Ny Tid. alexhuser@ Gmail.com The Backward Class was shown by Oslo Dokumentarkino in collaboration with the UN connection at the House of Literature in Oslo on 30 April.
