Newton

India, the world’s largest democracy, is preparing for elections with nine million voting booths serving 800 million voters. Newton, a rookie civil servant, is stationed in a conflict-ridden area in the deep jungles of central India. The region’s political complexities are exposed when Newton’s hopes for a free and fair democratic process are challenged by violent attacks from guerilla forces and the locals’ apathy toward the elections. In this comedy – a modern parable about the fragility of democracy – director Amit Masurkar reminds us that Indian cinema continues to flourish outside of Bollywood. Like Court, screened at the 2015 JFF, Newton focuses on the individual to illuminate an entire justice system.