Nomad Film Festival 2025
The Nomad Film Festival provides a platform for the voices and stories of marginalized and Indigenous communities from India and beyond, and in particular, for members of Denotified Tribes–groups that were listed as ‘criminal by birth’ under the colonial Criminal Tribes Act,1871 and who continue to struggle with the stigma of criminality.The focus is on films by first-time filmmakers from our communities, especially those using community-led methodologies, in addition to films by more established film makers.
The festival addresses the invisibility of, and the harmful stereotypes about these groups that reinforce the stigmas of criminalisation in mainstream films. The objective is to create a space for indigenous voice and artistic expression in our own terms. Through screenings, workshops, and conversations with filmmakers and community members, the festival creates a space for artistic expression, dialogue, and reflection on pressing social and cultural issues faced by these communities.
Bird trapper or Beggar ? ( Sikkidre Shikari Illdidre Bhikari )
The film is a journey that perhaps began decades ago and has been many years in the making. The Hakki Pikkis are a free spirited nomadic tribe who began their wandering many generations ago in the North Western part of the Indian subcontinent.
Over time they traveled through and settled in different states of the country. As they moved, they survived through trapping birds and hunting small game in the forests and selling them in cities and towns along with lucky charms and trinkets. If the trap failed, begging was the next best bet!
Exiled from the forest, reviled by the city, their traditional ways of life outlawed, the Hakki Pikkis share their stories of wit and survival in the film that emerged through a series of community conversations held when we travelled with friends from a settlement in Bannerghatta, Bangalore to other settlements across Karnataka.