Religion
Synopsis
We are making a video on the contrast between India and Netherlands in the context of Religion. We hope to bring out the similarities and differences in how each of the countries view religion and are influenced by it. We will do this through a talk show highlighting the major religions in both the countries.
We are making a video on the contrast between India and Netherlands in the context of Religion. We hope to bring out the similarities and differences in how each of the countries view religion and are influenced by it. We will do this through a talk show highlighting the major religions in both the countries.
Script
(Applause- Jaanvi enters)
(Monologue- greeting, thank you)
Jaanvi: We have our first guests for the evening. They're two insanely talented, budding filmmakers who started their career with this documentary which received great critical acclaim from all around the world and is currently being screened at several film festivals around the world. Let's give it up for the Khan Sisters, Noor and Aliyah
Jaanvi: Lovely to have you have you here, Noor and Aliyah
You’re new to this industry and you both are still studying, I’ve heard. Tell me something about yourselves and this documentary you both are working on.
Aliyah: Thanks for having us. You are right. We're both students who studied sociology in our undergrad in India.
We came to Leidan University to pursue our master's in mass media (film and photographic studies).
We are in our 2nd year and this project started when we learnt the basic about Dutch religion.
Coming from a place like India, where religion plays an important rule, sociologically, culturally and politically as well. Netherlands was a surprise because more than 50% of the population is irreligious. We wanted to study this and in fact tell people about it because studying this aspect of society is important too.
Jaanvi: That’s interesting. What is your theme?
Noor: The theme as we said is mostly on the religious stand point of the Dutch
We are studying the society as a whole and how all of this affects the people or if it doesn't.
50% of the population are non-religious and the remaining are. 24% are Roman Catholics, Protestants follow with 15%. 5% are Muslim which an interesting case was.
A large majority of the Dutch population believes that religion should not have a determining role to play in politics and education. Religion is also decreasingly seen as a social binder and is generally considered a private matter which should not be propagated in public.
The things that were interesting was that atheism, agnosticism and Christian atheism are on the rise and widely accepted and are non-controversial.
We are also studying the history of religion in the Netherlands which covered a lot of criteria's such as the decline of Christianity and secularisation.
We questioned a lot of people on the basis of things such as does religion do more harm than good and almost 63% believed it did more harm than good. (2015)
Aliyah: You’d be surprised to know that cults, sects and new religious movements have the same legal rights as larger and more mainstream religions do.
All of this made us want to take up this as our main subject because here's a place where people are free to follow their own religion but they give enough of the freedom for other to follow theirs which is the right way to live life.
Jaanvi: Do you have any characters of chief importance in this film?
NOOR: As the film is a documentary based on a topic like religion we did not see the purpose of having one main character. We could say the Dutch land speaks for itself and has a beauty which does not require an actor. The movie is shot in the city as well as the rural areas. Mainly collecting everybody's opinion on a thing such as their own religion. People were very kind to talk about it and answer very honestly. You will see the synagogues, churches and monasteries', sculptures and a lot of other historical sights.
JAANVI: I'd like you to tell us about the contrast between religion in the Netherlands and India.
NOOR: Being from a country where it's likely that you'll be looked down upon for not being religious, we found it easier to open up about our beliefs in the Netherlands. The tolerance the people have towards each other makes it feel like such a warm place. There's no hostility between groups and religion doesn't seem to interfere with administration. This amount of peace is absolutely new to us.
JAANVI: What major problems, if any, did you face while making your film?
NOOR: The first and biggest issue we faced while making a film in religion is boundaries- what you can and can't show, say or shoot. It's probably the most controversial and volatile topic and you never know who might take offense. We had a hard time trying to make sure our content won't be subject to any censorship.
It was also really hard to find people with strong views on religion because we observed that a lot of people don't have the concept of a higher power on their mind constantly as they're going about their day as we've been taught to since we were kids.
Jaanvi: I’m so sure this film is going to do great. Here’s a poster for it. releasing on the sixth of February. It will be screened at the sundown film festival and will also be screened at the NCPA. Once again. Let’s give it up for the ladies. Thank you for coming!
(Applause- Jaanvi enters)
(Monologue- greeting, thank you)
Jaanvi: We have our first guests for the evening. They're two insanely talented, budding filmmakers who started their career with this documentary which received great critical acclaim from all around the world and is currently being screened at several film festivals around the world. Let's give it up for the Khan Sisters, Noor and Aliyah
Jaanvi: Lovely to have you have you here, Noor and Aliyah
You’re new to this industry and you both are still studying, I’ve heard. Tell me something about yourselves and this documentary you both are working on.
Aliyah: Thanks for having us. You are right. We're both students who studied sociology in our undergrad in India.
We came to Leidan University to pursue our master's in mass media (film and photographic studies).
We are in our 2nd year and this project started when we learnt the basic about Dutch religion.
Coming from a place like India, where religion plays an important rule, sociologically, culturally and politically as well. Netherlands was a surprise because more than 50% of the population is irreligious. We wanted to study this and in fact tell people about it because studying this aspect of society is important too.
Jaanvi: That’s interesting. What is your theme?
Noor: The theme as we said is mostly on the religious stand point of the Dutch
We are studying the society as a whole and how all of this affects the people or if it doesn't.
50% of the population are non-religious and the remaining are. 24% are Roman Catholics, Protestants follow with 15%. 5% are Muslim which an interesting case was.
A large majority of the Dutch population believes that religion should not have a determining role to play in politics and education. Religion is also decreasingly seen as a social binder and is generally considered a private matter which should not be propagated in public.
The things that were interesting was that atheism, agnosticism and Christian atheism are on the rise and widely accepted and are non-controversial.
We are also studying the history of religion in the Netherlands which covered a lot of criteria's such as the decline of Christianity and secularisation.
We questioned a lot of people on the basis of things such as does religion do more harm than good and almost 63% believed it did more harm than good. (2015)
Aliyah: You’d be surprised to know that cults, sects and new religious movements have the same legal rights as larger and more mainstream religions do.
All of this made us want to take up this as our main subject because here's a place where people are free to follow their own religion but they give enough of the freedom for other to follow theirs which is the right way to live life.
Jaanvi: Do you have any characters of chief importance in this film?
NOOR: As the film is a documentary based on a topic like religion we did not see the purpose of having one main character. We could say the Dutch land speaks for itself and has a beauty which does not require an actor. The movie is shot in the city as well as the rural areas. Mainly collecting everybody's opinion on a thing such as their own religion. People were very kind to talk about it and answer very honestly. You will see the synagogues, churches and monasteries', sculptures and a lot of other historical sights.
JAANVI: I'd like you to tell us about the contrast between religion in the Netherlands and India.
NOOR: Being from a country where it's likely that you'll be looked down upon for not being religious, we found it easier to open up about our beliefs in the Netherlands. The tolerance the people have towards each other makes it feel like such a warm place. There's no hostility between groups and religion doesn't seem to interfere with administration. This amount of peace is absolutely new to us.
JAANVI: What major problems, if any, did you face while making your film?
NOOR: The first and biggest issue we faced while making a film in religion is boundaries- what you can and can't show, say or shoot. It's probably the most controversial and volatile topic and you never know who might take offense. We had a hard time trying to make sure our content won't be subject to any censorship.
It was also really hard to find people with strong views on religion because we observed that a lot of people don't have the concept of a higher power on their mind constantly as they're going about their day as we've been taught to since we were kids.
Jaanvi: I’m so sure this film is going to do great. Here’s a poster for it. releasing on the sixth of February. It will be screened at the sundown film festival and will also be screened at the NCPA. Once again. Let’s give it up for the ladies. Thank you for coming!
Reflection
This project taught us a lot about the variety of religions that people follow and more so, about the people in Netherlands who do not follow a religion at all. Suprisingly we also learned a lot about the different views, faith and belief of not only the people of Netherlands but also our own country. It taught us team work, several research methods, to be respectful of other people's opinions and equality. We are grateful for such an experience.
This project taught us a lot about the variety of religions that people follow and more so, about the people in Netherlands who do not follow a religion at all. Suprisingly we also learned a lot about the different views, faith and belief of not only the people of Netherlands but also our own country. It taught us team work, several research methods, to be respectful of other people's opinions and equality. We are grateful for such an experience.
Comparision
We compared our page to the food page of Lyceum Oudehoven.
We realised that their main focus was only on Indian Food, where as we showed a comparison between the Indian and Dutch religion.
They were in constant touch with the Indian students from other schools while we didn’t have a partner school.
Both, ours and their videos only featured 3 members of the teams.
They also mentioned their perception of each food item where as we focused on the facts about Dutch religion.
We compared our page to the food page of Lyceum Oudehoven.
We realised that their main focus was only on Indian Food, where as we showed a comparison between the Indian and Dutch religion.
They were in constant touch with the Indian students from other schools while we didn’t have a partner school.
Both, ours and their videos only featured 3 members of the teams.
They also mentioned their perception of each food item where as we focused on the facts about Dutch religion.
Photo used under Creative Commons from Kirt Edblom