The Song of Margaret’s Hope

About the film

Workers in the tea gardens of West Bengal live in a terrible state due to constant negligence and false promises given by the management as well as the state government. In the last few years, a number of tea estates have closed down and the people living there often migrated or even committed suicide out of poverty. As the workers of the closed gardens face dire conditions, the workers of the running gardens live not a very different life. The meager wages, poor health care facilities expensive education and the lack of political movement have made their existence more vulnerable than ever. Margaret’s Hope being one of the oldest & largest gardens of the state has celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2014. The management on this occasion has commissioned a promotional film depicting the life of garden as a paradise. When the local youth saw it, they became furious. They have seen an entire different life as children of tea garden workers. Their music and the quest to bring out the actual picture of their life has culminated in this film.

Director Biography

Arijit Mitra & Subhadipta Biswas have passed out from Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute with specialization in Audiography & Editing respectively. Apart from practicing in their own disciplines they are both keen on making socially relevant films. ‘The Song of Margaret’s Hope’ is their first documentary film together. They have earlier made a short fiction called ‘Wheel’.