Puppetoscope: International Puppet Film Festival returns to Delhi! Catch screenings of films starring only puppets

Shining a spotlight on the enchanting world of shadow puppet theatre, the second edition of Puppetoscope — International Puppet Film Festival is back in the Capital.

The intertwined journey of puppetry, cinema, and animation dates back some 3,000 years. Bringing the flavour of puppetry, the festival includes live shows alongside several screenings of films featuring only puppets.

“During Covid, all of us were housebound, and puppeteers started to work a lot with the digital medium making films, doing shows on Zoom, etc. A whole body of work was created with the digitisation and filming of puppets,” shares organiser of the festival, puppeteer Anurupa Roy.

A key highlight of this festival is the host of live leather puppetry shows from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. One of these, Episodes of the Togalu Gombeyatta Ramayana, depicting episodes from the Ramayana, is set to be an all-night event from 9pm to 6am starting Saturday night.

Gunduraju, who will present the show with his family, says, “Yeh humara khandani show hai. Waise mandiron aur melon mein zyada chalta hai; par Ramayana ka bhaag leke yahan bhi saari raat chalega.”

Others events include film screenings and competitions divided into three categories — children, fiction, and documentaries. Interestingly, the winner in the children’s category will be decided by a jury of those present in the audience.

Filmmaker RV Ramani is presenting his film Nee Engey (Where Are You), explains, “Before cinema and technology came in, shadow puppeteers did audio-visual narrations. My research into their lifestyles developed into this film — an homage to the original filmmakers before technology and cinema came in.”

Catch It Live:

What: Puppetoscope — International Puppet Film Festival

Where: (Film screenings) India International Centre, Lodhi Road and (All-night puppet show) Goethe Institut, Max Mueller Bhawan, KG Marg

On till: April 6

Timing: 10am to 8pm (April 4); 10am to 6am (April 5);

11am to 8pm (April 6)

Nearest Metro Station: JLN on the Violet Line

—Written by Tanvi Consul

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