
MAKING SPACE
14 minutes | Hindi with English subtitles | 2024
Nikita Parikh
Alsana lives in a small, chaotic neighbourhood in Ahmedabad, cut off from the rest of the city by an 85 acre landfill on one side and a highway on the other. Her family, like many others, moved here after the 2002 riots in search of safety and security. The area was a jungle, with no electricity or roads. Now, houses bump up against each other competing for space. In a place like this, a room of one’s own is hard to come by, but Alsana has a corner. Only her rules apply here. The corner takes on different forms - each an expression of her inner life, at odds with the world. Meanwhile, Alsana’s drawings show signs of the society seeping in, as she grapples with her identity and conflicts closer to home.
International Documentary and Short Film Festival, Kerala
National Documentary Short Film Festival, Thrissur
Dharamshala International Film Festival
Beyond Borders Feminist Film Festival, Delhi
Nikita Parikh came to filmmaking through working with children. She traveled to classrooms across the country making videos for Teach for India, an NGO which works in government and low-income private schools. During her Master’s degree in Education at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, she started researching and using participatory media with teenagers. She is driven by creating films which promote understanding, empathy and change.
Director: Nikita Parikh
Executive Producer: Aastha Singh
Cinematographer: Suraj Katra
Editor: Dhritiman Das
Sound Designer: Ninad Lad
Online Artist: Dhanik Dhende
Animation Team: Akansha Sur, Aishwarya Chaudhari, Neerav Doshi
Poster and Illustration: Mohd. Intiyaz