Up until now I’ve dedicated few words to Aurovilian movies, due to my short time here. It isn’t easy to write about films made without the right tools, and without money, while other films on the theme of human unity are being screened – films made outside Auroville and by industry professionals. At least it has been difficult until this Friday afternoon, when, after a selection of short films from around the world, an Aurovilian film began. All of a sudden, whole audience was engaged. Seeing them laughing, pointing to themselves or a friend on screen, I felt how inclusive that moment was; how, more than anything, the Auroville Film Festival is an occasion for the community to meet, to share and be united. Indeed, it’s rare to find such a high participation in a film festival as it is here. So I’m glad to see that 40% of the films screened are Aurovilian; so glad to see how, for one week, the boring, bureaucratic and administrative Town Hall transforms; how faces I’ve never seen and faces I’m starting to get used to, join the venues, dance in front of the music stage and eat together. I start to get a glimpse of what this community really is.
