Jul 27 2025 to Jul 27 2025 11 a.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

The Word and the Teacher / ಅರಿವು ಮತ್ತು ಗುರುವು / Das Wort und Der Lehrer
80 mins |  English, Kannada, & German with English subtitles | 2023 | India, Germany

Rev. Ferdinand Kittel (1832 – 1903) was a missionary from Germany, who spent 50 years of his life between India and Germany on his work as a writer, translator, linguist and lexicographer. This period film takes up the journey of his monumental work in the fields of lexicography and philology. Despite many challenges, he mastered the Kannada language and created a huge dictionary and thesaurus unparalleled in any Indian language. He also taught in schools and produced more than 40 scholarly works.

This tri-lingual, non-fiction film is shot in locations where Kittel lived and worked both in southern India and Germany, and its first person narration uses his letters to his children in Germany, and letters and reports to superiors. It includes archival photographs dating back to the early 19th century, folk songs and poems written and translated by Kittel, and Old Kannada literature. The film has been shown in different parts of Switzerland, Germany & India.

During the production of the film, one of the early print typefaces of Kannada, pioneered by Kittel and cast in Europe was digitised by the filmmaker, Prashant Pandit, and an open-source font in the name of Kittel was released for public use. This font was extensively used in the books published during the 1860s. The film also uses this font in the displayed texts.

Image Credit
Header: Erstwhile Basel Mission Printing Press, Mangaluru, a still from the film, The Word and the Teacher. Ferdinand Kittel supervised the publication of numerous books at the Press.

Production Crew:
Director, Writer & Editor – Prashant Pandit
Cinematography – Chidanand GL & Florina Steiner
Sound – Anand V & Mahaveer S

Speaker

Prashant Pandit
Filmmaker
Prashant Pandit has been an independent filmmaker, writer, editor and digital post-production consultant for more than a decade. He has collaborated in fiction and non-fiction works, including award-winning films, such as Paddayi (Tulu), Neeli Hakki (Kannada), Life in Metaphors (English) and Wanderers Between Worlds (English), among others. An active member of film society movements in Karnataka, he has organised filmmaking and film appreciation workshops in Bangalore, Mysore, Neenasam, and other venues. He wrote a Sunday column on world cinema for a leading Kannada daily, Vijaya Karnataka. The film, The Word and The Teacher, on the life & works of Ferdinand Kittel has been a labour of love for over three years.