The documentary film will explore the journeys and intersections of pilgrims who attended the Maha Kumbha Mela. Through this exploration we hope to educate and build awareness of this important human cultural event. We want to get the viewer as close as they possibly can to the actual chaos and feel of the festival as we ourselves experienced there. One of the main purposes of the mela as I mentioned is this meeting of people and exchanging of ideas. Therefore we conducted many interviews with folks from all walks of life to ask them about their lives, experiences, and perspectives on the Kumbha Mela.

We not only talked to well known spiritual leaders and gurus, but also babas hidden on the street corners, people running the telephone booths, an astrologer, and even the chai wallah. This way we can give the viewer different angles of the mela. Each person who attends has a story, each has there own reason for being their, and each has their own experience while there. this is what we would like to share with the rest of the world. The film will allow the viewers to experience the Kumbha Mela directly through its legends, characters, and events. The people will talk for themselves. Many of the interviews are in Hindi, and will therefore have English subtitles.

The piece we have decided to create will be a feature length documentary, between one to two hours long, about the experience and Universe that is the Kumbha Mela. It will utilize traditional documentary techniques, but will be meshed with a lot of experimentation and artistic filming/editing styles. The footage contains 16mm film and digital video. These two mediums combined, with their different feel and texture, give the film its aritistic slant.

To the right is a music video we created shot all on 16 mm film. We used quick shots and cuts, some special effects,