3rd i SFISAFF: The Golden Thread

A visually spectacular and symphonic ode to manual labor and the jute factories of West Bengal, India. THE GOLDEN THREAD documentary, directed by 3rd i alum and multi-award-winning filmmaker Nishtha Jain (GULABI GANG, LAKSHMI AND ME), with its magical long takes and beautifully composed shots, fully immerses the audience into the world of the golden fiber or jute.

The film shifts from the jute fields of West Bengal to weaving in gigantic mills where the fiber is processed, and where not much has changed since the industrial revolution. As Jain mentions, “powered by steam and sweat, work is a dance to the rhythms of the century-old machines”. And in between scenes, we meet the workers on their lunch breaks, smoking ganja to keep going, and singing at night while dreaming of becoming movie stars.

“My stories are complex,” Jain says of her films, “They lie in the gray. (THE GOLDEN THREAD) is not just a one-line story. It’s about jute. It’s about this factory. It’s about the ecosystem. It’s about factories being made obsolete. It’s about how these factories work, and the people (who work in them).”

Presented as part of 3rd I Film Festival.