Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
"Cinema has long been a powerful medium for storytelling, capable of shaping public opinion, raising awareness, and driving social change. Throughout history, filmmakers have utilized this visual art form to highlight social injustices, promote human rights, and challenge the status quo. The role of cinema in social movements is profound, acting not only as a reflection of societal issues but also as a catalyst for mobilizing people toward collective action" (Khalid, Z. 2024).
Joining us to discuss the legacy of cinema, protest and resistance is Director Partho Sen-Gupta.
This excerpt from an article about Sen-Gupta's last film, Slam, set in Western Sydney, speaks to the theme of cinema and resistance:
" In Slam, art is not neutral, but a site of resistance. Those crushed beneath Australia’s colonial structures are able to stand in solidarity and speak their truth. It is a platform where Ameena finds a voice, until she mysteriously vanishes. The film follows a host of characters affected by her absence — this includes estranged brother Tariq, or “Ricky” ( Omar’s angelic Adam Bakri), who is drawn from his affluent neighbourhood back to the Western suburbs where he is forced to confront his past; and Joanne (Rachael Blake), the officer in charge of Ameena’s investigation, whose colleagues insist that Ameena has joined a terrorist cult overseas.
Director Partho Sen-Gupta, who started his career as an art director in Bollywood films and has since settled in Australia, weaves together this web of conflicted individuals with dextrous empathy. Their traumatic memories are captured in impressionistic, nightmarish flashes of bold colour, while Western Sydney, the most culturally and linguistically diverse region in Australia, nabs a rare starring role" (Claire Cao).
We explored these questions during the interview:
1. Tell us a little about yourself, your background in film, and what orients your approach to filmmaking.
2. The Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene said in an interview with Guy Hennebelle in 1969 that ‘I regard the cinema primarily as a political instrument of action.’ He also said famously in this interview that ‘Europe is not my centre’, revealing a decolonial approach (as we discussed in class in Week 4). Can you tell us a little bit about who Sembene was and how would you link these two statements?
3. The Battle of Algiers has been called by the media scholar Sohail Daulatzai in his essay reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the film that, “Though The Battle of Algiers (dir. Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966) was made fifty years ago, it’s as if it never ended. From the corridors of power to the tunnels of Gaza, we are seemingly still living the film.”
“THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS would win numerous awards worldwide and was nominated for many others, including winning the prestigious Golden Lion Award at its debut at the Venice Film Festival in 1966, where the French delegation walked out of the award ceremony in protest. It was also nominated for an Oscar in 1967 for Best Foreign Film and again in 1969 for Best Director and Best Screenplay.”
Could you tell us a bit about the Battle of Algiers as an example of Third Cinema and why you think Sohail Daulatzai says it is an example of cinema as revolutionary?
4. The late actor and filmmaker Mohammed Bakri, speaking about his film ‘Jenin, Jenin’ said that he has never seen such a grudge against a film, but that it spurred him to make a second version of it. What do you think spurs political filmmakers to work against the odds in the spirit of revolutionary cinema?
5. In 2018, you released the film, Slam which is set in western Sydney and deals with themes of Islamophobia and the Palestinian diaspora in Australia. Can you tell us a bit about the experience of making this film and its political significance within Australian filmmaking?
"Cinema has long been a powerful medium for storytelling, capable of shaping public opinion, raising awareness, and driving social change. Throughout history, filmmakers have utilized this visual art form to highlight social injustices, promote human rights, and challenge the status quo. The role of cinema in social movements is profound, acting not only as a reflection of societal issues but also as a catalyst for mobilizing people toward collective action" (Khalid, Z. 2024).
Joining us to discuss the legacy of cinema, protest and resistance is Director Partho Sen-Gupta.
This excerpt from an article about Sen-Gupta's last film, Slam, set in Western Sydney, speaks to the theme of cinema and resistance:
" In Slam, art is not neutral, but a site of resistance. Those crushed beneath Australia’s colonial structures are able to stand in solidarity and speak their truth. It is a platform where Ameena finds a voice, until she mysteriously vanishes. The film follows a host of characters affected by her absence — this includes estranged brother Tariq, or “Ricky” ( Omar’s angelic Adam Bakri), who is drawn from his affluent neighbourhood back to the Western suburbs where he is forced to confront his past; and Joanne (Rachael Blake), the officer in charge of Ameena’s investigation, whose colleagues insist that Ameena has joined a terrorist cult overseas.
Director Partho Sen-Gupta, who started his career as an art director in Bollywood films and has since settled in Australia, weaves together this web of conflicted individuals with dextrous empathy. Their traumatic memories are captured in impressionistic, nightmarish flashes of bold colour, while Western Sydney, the most culturally and linguistically diverse region in Australia, nabs a rare starring role" (Claire Cao).
We explored these questions during the interview:
1. Tell us a little about yourself, your background in film, and what orients your approach to filmmaking.
2. The Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene said in an interview with Guy Hennebelle in 1969 that ‘I regard the cinema primarily as a political instrument of action.’ He also said famously in this interview that ‘Europe is not my centre’, revealing a decolonial approach (as we discussed in class in Week 4). Can you tell us a little bit about who Sembene was and how would you link these two statements?
3. The Battle of Algiers has been called by the media scholar Sohail Daulatzai in his essay reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the film that, “Though The Battle of Algiers (dir. Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966) was made fifty years ago, it’s as if it never ended. From the corridors of power to the tunnels of Gaza, we are seemingly still living the film.”
“THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS would win numerous awards worldwide and was nominated for many others, including winning the prestigious Golden Lion Award at its debut at the Venice Film Festival in 1966, where the French delegation walked out of the award ceremony in protest. It was also nominated for an Oscar in 1967 for Best Foreign Film and again in 1969 for Best Director and Best Screenplay.”
Could you tell us a bit about the Battle of Algiers as an example of Third Cinema and why you think Sohail Daulatzai says it is an example of cinema as revolutionary?
4. The late actor and filmmaker Mohammed Bakri, speaking about his film ‘Jenin, Jenin’ said that he has never seen such a grudge against a film, but that it spurred him to make a second version of it. What do you think spurs political filmmakers to work against the odds in the spirit of revolutionary cinema?
5. In 2018, you released the film, Slam which is set in western Sydney and deals with themes of Islamophobia and the Palestinian diaspora in Australia. Can you tell us a bit about the experience of making this film and its political significance within Australian filmmaking?
