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Intent on providing a better life for herself and her children after the suicide of her farmer-husband, Sanjivani struggles not only against the structures of a patriarchal society that incapacitates and renders invisible widows like her, but also with the mountain of debt left by her late husband. It is only when she joins a discussion group with other farmer-suicide widows that she discovers that she is not alone with her despair and grief – the suicide rate among peasants who took their lives in the face of crop failures and dumping prices on the globalised market is harrowing: 400,000 in the last twenty years. Empowered by community, shared stories of resilience, and unexpected solidarity, Sanjivani cautiously forges a path forward. With stunning cinematography and a warm empathetic eye for his protagonists, the director manages to render a careful representation of a complex subject.
Kinshuk Surjan is an Indian filmmaker, based in Brussels and Bhopal. After studying film in India, Kinshuk went to pursue his master at DocNomads. In this period, his short, Divided Lines (2015), was screened at the 2015 Jihlava Film Festival and he made another shortfilm De Flandrien (2017). Marching in the Dark is his first feature documentary.