IAWRT India holds 18th Asian Women’s Film Festival
The 18th year of the Asian Women’s Film Festival was held from March 15 to 17 at the India International Centre in New Delhi.
In three days, 66 films were screened from 20 countries.
The inaugural session was in memory of the late Sumitra Peries, a path-breaking woman filmmaker from Sri Lanka who passed away recently by screening her film ‘Vaishnavee’ followed by Bina Paul in conversation with Yashoda Wimaladharma, an actress from Sri Lanka about her life and work.
Phase 2 of the workshop on Gender Climate Change Intersectionalities “Climate Change…I’m living it” for women and girls from marginalized communities on how to make short films on mobile phones, as they discussed mitigation and adaptation strategies. The films made in Phase 1 (held from March 1 to 3 at Alliance Francaise) were screened as part of a roundtable conversation bringing different stakeholders to the table.
A roundtable discussion on “Representation of Gender, Women and Children in the Media” was also held. Highlighting the fact that this perhaps is the most impacted and affected demographic with the coming of social media. From consumers to co-creators of media it has been a very quick transition for this section of the population. More importantly, the explosion in available platforms for dissemination of news, views, reportage, and fiction features also means it is both an opportunity and challenge to have gender, child and women-sensitive content.
Two exhibitions were featured. ‘The Incredible Child’ is curated by Samina Mishra on the lives of Afghan refugee children. ‘The Life She Lives’ An exhibition of photographs by Chitvan Gill Chitvin frames the protagonists of her stories as she explores the lives of women living at the margins of India’s socio-economic realities.
