Tomorrow We Disappear

The Kathputli colony in New Dehli has since the 1970s been inhabited by almost 3000 artists and their families. The artists have performed all over the world and are seen as an important part of the Indian heritage. There is a lot of joy inside the colony, but also poverty. Puran Bhat is a puppeteer who has performed in 25 countries, Rehman Shah is a magician who is refused by the police to perform in the street, while Maya Pawar is a fearless acrobat who has been trained since she was a baby. The documentary introduces us to these people at a time when the artists find out that the government has sold the property they live on. The property, bought by investors, is going to be the site for New Dehli's first skyscraper. Moving the colony poses a sad and complex problem, and an interesting foundation for a documentary about the importance of art.

The problems inside the colony are also highly present. The elders look at their current way of life situation as the only one possible, while the young inhabitants dream about a life outside the arts as well. The conflicts between the artists make the colony look fragmented and vulnerable, while also tightly tied together in the next moment.
The contrast between progress and nostalgia is one of the film's most important themes. To develop a country's infrastructure is not necessarily a bad thing, but it all depends on the way it is done. One of the documentary's most important contributions is to show the parallel tracks between the destiny of individual people and the importance of remembering a nation's culture.

This documentary is the directorial debut of Jim Goldblum and Adam M. Weber. Weber has worked as an editor on several American productions before this movie. The Kickstarter-funded documentary premiered on Tribeca Film Festival in 2014 and has since been shown and won awards on film festivals all over the world.