The Lottery of Birth

Today was a hectic day at Raindance. Both screenings I attended were packed to the brim despite being daytime screenings. At night, Raindance films seem to take on a life of their own and the foyer are in the Apollo cinema seems barely big enough to contain the queues that form for tickets and screen entries, but the daytime too is getting busier.

'The Lottery of Birth' had a sold out premiere screening (which Alan Rickman attended) and a repeat screening today. Digesting more on a second look, the film provides a fascinating look at the world around us and questions the reasons we get to where we are. Through questioning the selective history we are taught in schools and the concept of discipline and following orders expected in educational institutes and workplaces, the documentary asks "how much freedom do we really have?"

"This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes." - Morpheus in 'The Matrix'.

George Monbiot, Howard Zinn, Vandana Shiva and others contribute to the conversation about expectation, our capacity to accept but not question the prevalent norms of society and our roles in the larger system of life. Education, employment, obedience and patriotism are all themes explored with interesting results. The film left many asking questions and has been called "life changing" by some which is a testament to its power to evoke thought.

Up for a Best Documentary award, this film is sure to make an international splash as its filmmakers Raoul Martinez and Joshua Van Praag confirmed in a Q&A session after the film that it has been accepted at other festivals and is creating a buzz online. They plan to release the film online for free to ensure it has a wide impact and talked about further episodes investigating the history or PR and role of the media in the way we perceive the world as well as another segment on economics and thought. The talented Joshua said he filmed the entire documentary on a Canon 5D and spoke about how much he loved shooting New York by night. Raindance's Elliot Grove also commented how the documentary transcended the typical format through transitions which added value aesthetically to the film and moved it beyond the "talking heads" world which occupies the documentary genre.

The two screenings of this film have been sold out to date, there is one more chance to catch it on Monday.