KOLKATA: Prasanna Vithanage’s ‘With You, Without You’ from Sri Lanka and Saim Sadiq’s ‘Darling’ from Pakistan are among the 19 short films, documentaries and features on gender that are part of a film festival titled SamaBhav (Equanimity) that will be held at NUJS from April 10.
The travelling film festival, being held in 16 locations across India, Dhaka and Kathmandu from February to July, is featuring a package of films about various forms of gender-based discrimination/violence against women, homophobia, transphobia and toxic masculinity. It aims at providing a safe platform to ventilate differences and celebrate diversity in gender.
West Bengal University of Juridical Sciences and Talking Taboo, Kolkata, in collaboration with Men Against Violence and Abuse (MAVA), are organizing this two-day-long festival on the theme of gender, masculinity, sexuality and diversity. The travelling film festival aims at engaging youths through stirring conversations with experts.
Harish Sadani, co-founder and executive director of Men Against Violence and Abuse MAVA, said: “Prasanna’s ‘With You, Without You’ is a hallmark because it talks about how toxic masculinity harms men too apart from disempowering women..”
“To create positive changes in the lives of people through cinema, we need to reach out to people from every sphere of our society. Law practitioners can and must, not only fight for the legal rights of transgenders, but also counsel people to get rid of deep-rooted taboo about transpeople,” said Sankhajit Biswas, director of ‘Hridoy Bosot’.
Ruchira Goswami, who teaches at NUJS, said: “I am looking forward to the session on ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ that showcases construction of gender roles in patriarchal family, unremunerative labour of women, domestic abuse and the also interplay of gender with religion.”
