Children of The Pyre

Winner of two National Awards this year and a host of international awards, Children of the Pyre is a haunting documentary that deals with children making a life by stealing shrouds from dead bodies. Shocking, right? That is why Rajesh S Jala, the man behind the documentary, began to capture their harrowing lives on celluloid. “Actually, I had gone to Benaras to make a film about the city. I didn’t know my subject; I just wanted to explore,” begins the filmmaker, who was in the city recently...

http://expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Cinema+for+a+cause&artid=5R15xD8i1Ak=&SectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&MainSectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&SEO=&SectionName=rSY|6QYp3kQ= WHEN filmmaker Rajesh S Jala’s two documentary films — Floating Lamp of the Shadow Valley and Children of the Pyre —were screened, the audience was left completely awe-struck by the filmmaker’s talent in documenting the lives of these unfortunate and unprivileged children. The former dealt with the life of Arif...

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/chennai/rs-1-lakh-crematoria-children-join-schools-786 March 24: “I want more people to die.” The chilling statement was not from a psychopath killer but a 15-year-old vettiyaan working at Manikarnika, India’s busiest cremation ground at Varanasi. Like this Raja Choudhury, scores of children working in cremation grounds across the country may now pick up school bags, thanks to a filmmaker who has made a touching documentary on their miserable lives by the dead. Children...

Article in "Dear Cinema" http://dearcinema.com/article/miff-%E2%80%9910-diary-conversation-director-children-pyre "Children of the Pyre" has been one of the most successful Indian documentaries made recently. It has won awards for Best Documentary at various festivals including Montreal, Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, USA and Sao Paulo besides winning a special jury award at the national film awards of India. The film has been in the competition at Pusan, Leipzig, Munich, Warsaw and Mumbai...

http://www.splitfilmfestival.hr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=244:rajesh-s-jala-children-of-the-pyre&catid=68:forum&Itemid=74&lang=en "Split Film Festival" tells about the Director of the film Film: Children of The Pyre Director: Rajesh S. Jala Born in Kashmir, India in 1969, Rajesh S. Jala has shot, directed and produced documentaries since 1997. His work has been shown in international festivals and broadcast on Indian and foreign television. In 2006, he...

Synopsis "Children of The Pyre" Seven small children work day and night at the biggest crematorium on the planet, located on the banks of the Ganges in the holy city of Varanasi. The children earn their living by keeping the 40 funeral pyres burning 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Hundreds of children and adults, all belonging to the caste of untouchables, work to burn the bodies. Every day, some 150 deceased Hindus are brought to Varanasi by their families. The children's job is to stoke the...

http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/090501/article.asp?parentID=107769 Waking Life and Death: Children of the Pyre review By Rowena Aquino Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary, Rajesh S. Jala's Children of the Pyre takes a direct approach to documenting the lives of children born to work at the Makarnika Cremation Grounds. The startling documentary Children of the Pyre arrived at the IFFLA last weekend to present the unsettling yet undeniably affecting lives of seven young boys who are...

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117938147.html?categoryid=31&cs=1 Montreal Children of the Pyre (Documentary -- India) By EDDIE COCKRELL A the Elements production. (International sales: the Elements, New Delhi.) Produced by Rajesh S. Jala. Executive producer, Sharmishtha Mukharjee. Directed by Rajesh S. Jala. A harrowing vision of a hell on earth, not-for-the-squeamish docu "Children of the Pyre" profiles seven Indian boys who tend an ancient, sprawling, 24/7 open-air crematorium. Helmer...

http://www.jff.org.il/?CategoryID=550&ArticleID=564 Prod. & Ph.: Rajesh S. Jala Festivals: Montreal (Best Documentary Award), Pusan, IDFA Source: The Elements, New Delhi Ever visited India? If so, Varanasi was almost certainly on your route; tourists arrive here for one reason alone: Manikarnika, the vast open-air cremation grounds on the banks of the Holy Ganges, where more than 150 bodies go up in flames each day with the promise of liberation from the cycle of birth and death. A great...

http://netindian.in/news/2010/01/23/0005001/national-awards-antaheen-best-film-priyanka-limaye-best-actors The following are the other awards announced today: ..... Best Investigative Film: Distant Rumblings, directed by Bani Prakash Das Best Animation Film: Prince and the Crown of Stones, directed by Gautam Bengal Special Jury Award: Rajesh S Jala for Children of the Pyre Short Fiction Film: Stations, directed by Emmanuel Palo Best Film on Family Values: Appuvin Nayagan - Spotty (My Hero),...

Article on indiantelevision.com http://www.indiantelevision.com/aac/y2k8/aac591.php Indian docu-feature 'Children of the Pyre' wins Award at Montreal By Indiantelevision.com Team (18 September 2008 9:30 pm) NEW DELHI: Children of the Pyre, a docu-feature shot in Varanasi by Delhi-based filmmaker Rajesh Jala, has been awarded the audience award for the Best Feature Documentary at the recently concluded Montreal World Film Festival. The 74-minute film, that is about seven young boys who work...

Best documentary - Montreal World Film Festival, Canada, 2008 - Sao Paulo International Film Festival, Brazil, 2008 - IFFLA, USA, 2009 - Special Jury Award & Best Audiography National Awards India - Asiatica Film Mediate, Rome, 2009 - Best Documentary & Cinematography, IDPA, Mumbai, 2009 - Special Jury Award, JEEVIKA Film Festival, 2009 Nominated in Competition - Pusan International Film Festival, 2008 - Munich International Film Festival, Germany, 2008 - Leipzig International Documentary...

1st Assistant Director: Raman T. Sharma email Id: krishnapundit13@gmail.com Blog: http://blogofkrishnasharma.blogspot.co...

Director and Cinematographer: Rajesh S. Jala email id: rajeshjala@gmail.com website: http://www.rajeshsjala.co...

Dedicated tothe millions of ill-fated childrenwho never get an opportunityto have a normal childhoodDirection & PhotographyRajesh S. JalaFeaturingRavi ChaudharyKapil ChaudharyYogi ChaudharyManish ChaudharySunil ChaudharyGagan ChaudharyAshish ChaudharyExecutive ProducerSharmishtha MukharjeeMusicRoy MenezesEditingSheetal KoulAdditional CameraGiriraj SharmaRaj KishoreCreative ConsultantsTassaduq HussainApurva ChandolaRajiv SrivastavaSound DesignMateen AhmadFirst Asst. DirectorRaman T. SharmaSound...