In the presence of the directors Ragunath Vasudevan, Peter Rippl and Nathaniel Knop.

On July 7^th, 1896, Bombay Gazette announces a sensation. The Lumière brothers introduce their cinematograph to India. The event takes place in The Watson's Hotel in Mumbai. In this building, on a tuesday evening, the history of Indian film and cinema begins to bud. But the event as well as the hotel itself is „whites only“ – history of film meets colonial history.

Today, the building is known as „Esplanade Mansion“ and declared a historic monument. There is no money for badly needed renovation – a huge problem for the people who now work there as lawyers or cleaning workers or live there as families.

Alongside them, Frankfurt filmmakers Ragunath Vasudevan, Nathaniel Knop and Peter Rippl immerge into the building's presence and retrace its past. The Watson's Hotel was supported by HessenFilm und Medien.

Peter Rippl is a well-known LICHTER-guest, many of his films were shown and awarded at LICHTER during the years. In 2018, he was part of the Jury for „Bester Regionaler Kurzfilm“ (best regional short film). We're happy to have him with another contribution.

Nathaniel Knop was also already a guest at LICHTER with one of his films – welcome back!