Earth

Duration: 106 mi

Year Published: 1998

Creator: Zeitgeist Films/Cracking the Earth Films

Format: 16mm

Color: Color

Sound: sound

Description: The second part of Meetha's Fire/Earth/Water trilogy examines the partition of India as a means of focusing on both literal and figurative connections to land. Based on an autobiography, the film mixes romance and social drama. The story is told from the perspective of eight year old Lenny, a girl from an affluent Parsee family. The Parsee community, descended from Muslims who fled Persia in the ninth century, became closely aligned with the British colonialists in India. During the partition they avoided persecution by adopting a neutral stance. The setting is Lahore in 1947, a city in which Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Parsee communities coexist in harmony. However independence from Britain is looming, with the proposal for a separate Muslim country, Pakistan rapidly becoming a reality. Initially, the prospect of violent change appears far removed from the group of young adults who gravitate around Lenny's Hindu nanny, Shanta. But almost overnight the mood changes and friends find themselves on opposing sides. Language Hindi dialogue with English subtitles. Genre/FormFeature films.