Film Screening: All Was Good

As part of the Contesting Governance Platform at Utrecht University, and in collaboration with students and staff from Cultural Anthropology and Educational Sciences, we are hosting a film series titled Re-imagining the University. To start, we watched The Uprising (2019), a powerful music documentary by Pravini Baboeram. The second film we watched was Everything Must Fall (2019), a vivid reconstruction of the student protests at Wits University, Johannesburg, by Rehad Desai. For our upcoming third screening, we will watch All Was Good (2022) (original title: Sab Changa Si) by Teresa Braggs. The film intimately captures the 2019–2020 student-led protests in Bangalore, India, against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Re-Imagining the University Film Series

By using film as a catalyst for discussion, we aim to create an environment for critical reflection on the challenges and opportunities facing the university as a place for critical reflection. This series is an invitation to rethink the university as a critical political space, to dream up new possibilities, and to chart a course towards a more equitable, inclusive, and transformative vision of learning and knowledge cultivation. This is especially crucial in view of the student-led liberation struggles we’ve witnessed on campus, as well as the unprecedented budget cuts announced by the far-right government. Each screening will be followed by a conversation led by invited discussants who will help frame key themes and open the floor for reflection. In these post-film discussions, participants will also be encouraged to experiment with various forms of knowledge-sharing, such as storytelling and creating collective archives. These interactive elements are designed to foster a collaborative environment where attendees can collectively re-imagine the purpose and future of the university.

All Was Good (2022)

All Was Good (original title: "Sab Changa Si") is a 2022 documentary directed by Teresa A. Braggs. The film intimately captures the 2019–2020 student-led protests in Bangalore, India, against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Through first-person footage, Braggs documents the experiences of diverse protestors—encompassing various classes, castes, religions, and genders—as they navigate the challenges and fractures of intersectional struggle: identity, rage, friendships, language, and (revolutionary) love. The title All Was Good is a reference to Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi’s ill-fated words with which he tried to downplay this important moment of civil resistance and thus works to turn a phrase of political denial into a powerful reflection of protest. Director Teresa Braggs and PhD student Arati Kade will join us for the discussion. Teresa Braggs is a filmmaker and cinematographer who experiments with text, sound, visuals and documentary. Arati Kade is a PhD student at the University of Amsterdam. Her research focuses on nomadic communities, Brahmanical hegemony, and nationalism from below.

The following screening is planned for May 22.