July 4: The First Chaoyang Trap Film Screening

We're screening (and streaming!) 'Taking the Horse to Eat Jalebis.' Join us in Beijing on July 4, or watch online from July 2-12

Krish: We’re organizing our first event! 

Back in 2019, Yan and I were lucky to catch a rare screening of Taking the Horse to Eat Jalebis, a sublime hybrid film from Old Delhi that melded documentary, animation and magical realism. 

We couldn’t stop thinking about it, and it led to a correspondence with the director about how much it meant to us. The film was one of the references we reached for when Chaoyang Trap was just an aspirational PowerPoint. It presented the polyphony of Delhi (where I grew up) with an empathy and a discernment that I’d never seen captured on screen. 

We had to get everyone we knew to watch this. 

It’s taken a while, but we’re so excited to finally present both the China and streaming premiere of this contemporary masterpiece. 

---

We will be hosting a one-time screening at Beijing landmark fRUITYSPACE. The film will also be available to stream online for a limited time.

---

If you’re in Beijing:

Join us on Sunday, the 4th of July, 8pm onwards at fRUITYSPACE. There will be a Q&A with director Anamika Haksar afterwards via Zoom. 

Limited spots! Follow the QR code below or hit this link. 

If you’re not in Beijing:

We’re making this film available online from July 2-12, in partnership with MovieSaints. Pre-order here and the stream will unlock at 00:00 UTC on July 2. You can watch this from anywhere in the world.

No region locks.

---

What’s the film about?

Taking the Horse to Eat Jalebis
घोड़े को जलेबी खिलाने ले जा रिया हूँ
带着马去吃加勒比

2019 (India)

122 mins

Directed by Anamika Haksar 

China + Streaming Premiere 

In Urdu / Hindi with English subtitles

Acclaimed theater director and playwright Anamika Haksar spent years conversing with the residents of Old Delhi about their lives and aspirations in preparing for this film debut. The result is a powerful cinematic vision of the ancient city as told through the eyes of the working classes—and through a blend of documentary and animated magical realism.

Dreamscapes come to life as we enter into the subterranean consciousness of Delhi's migrant population. The film's eye floats over moonlit roof tops, focusing on the forgotten fringes where life thrives amid concrete and smog. Recordings from real-life street characters form the backbone of this tribute to a beautiful city, its culture, and the ghosts of its history. 

Within it, we start to understand what a city loses when its heart succumbs to progress.