I spent some part of last week in Thiruvananthapuram, at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala. However, it was not as an audience member, or even a filmmaker showing their work, but as part of the documentary film jury, which is a complicated business.

Being on a jury is fun because you get to see all the films in competition. But it's also complicated because you watch and judge the work of your peers and friends at times; and because you need to retain your subjectivity and innocence in watching a film, while also being objective and detached. You need to engage with and take into account the views of your co-jurors while at times arguing fiercely for your own preferences. Hence, the act of watching the film is not only an act of watching with others, but watching almost as others too.