As part of the global campaign of 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence, November 30 is marked as 'South Asian Women's Day' - to remember the shared histories and feminist struggles of the region. To celebrate this day, Sangat and Kriti Film Club organised the South Asian Feminist Film Festival with feature films, documentaries, shorts, animations and panel discussions, all online.
The festival was curated by Aanchal Kapur and Reena Mohan, and brought online by the Kriti Film Club, with support from Sangat.
The festival was brought to the virtual theatre from 27th to 30th November 2020! Check out the schedule and watch the festival mashup here.
Explore the festival films and filmmakers by themes.
To watch the panel discussions held during the festival here.
Why the South Asian Women's Day
The region of South Asia is bound by a common and cross-cutting threads of history/ herstory, language, arts and culture. Its concerns are similar too—rising levels of poverty, widening income gaps, greater emphasis on weapons and military, increasing intolerance towards minorities, civil unrest, human rights’ violations, and most of all, increasing violence against women.
In fact, South Asia is one of the most violent regions for women, as proven by its shockingly low sex-ratios! Besides, democracy covers little ground in the region, while globalisation and privatisation have gained control. Countries that pride themselves as democracies largely ignore people’s issues, at the same time market forces have turned people into consumers. Shared boundaries between countries are points of conflict. The result is that our regional identity – as South Asians – has been wiped off our consciousness and we only live as nationals in our respective countries.
To forge in women across South Asia a common identity as South Asians and as women facing similar patriarchy-related concerns, to pledge for peace, justice, human rights and democracy and to celebrate our respective achievements, women from different South Asian countries decided in 2002 to celebrate 30th November as South Asian Women’s Day.
This day, has, since then been celebrated by several women's groups and like-minded organisations across South Asia.
To the
promise of justice, democracy and harmony,
To the wholeness of
justice,
To the power of peace,
Let us walk together...
FESTIVAL ORGANISERS
Sangat
The word ‘Sangat’, in some languages, means a gathering/community of like-minded people for a good and just cause.
Sangat was created in April 1998 at a workshop of gender trainers, held in Bangladesh and organised by the FAO-NGO Programme. In a way, it is the continuation of the FAO-NGO Programme which worked for 25 years and was coordinated by Kamla Bhasin. Presently Sangat is a project of Jagori, New Delhi.
Sangat was created in realisation of the fact that the space for transformatory gender work was steadily declining. The need to create a network of gender activists and trainers was urgent, critical, and strongly felt and articulated. The belief that understanding, peace and co-operation are essential for meaningful progress also prompted the formation of this regional alliance.
Genuine development, democracy and peace are only possible in the region if we develop an identity and perspectives. Sangat’s mandate has therefore been focused on developing and strengthening regional/ cross-border perspectives, programmes and cooperation through its activities and programmes.
Email: sangat.sangat@jagori.org
Website: https://www.sangatnetwork.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
Kriti Film Club
Outreach Educate Entertain
#thoughtprovokingcinema
The Kriti Film Club has been screening documentary films at least once a month since the year 2000. It screens films on a range of issues connected with development, human rights and social attitudes/ trends. A neighbourhood film club that has, over two decades showcased films made by amateur and professional filmmakers, for young and old hands, for Indian, South-Asian and international films….creating a space for brainstorming and sharing on these issues among different others.
The Kriti Film Club is an initiative of Kriti: a development praxis and communication team, a not-for-profit entity, based in New Delhi and, with work across India. Founded by Aanchal Kapur, who believes in the power of sharing knowledge resources for action, the film club has been screening in community, school/ college, institutional and public spaces for 20 years without any grants or external funding.
The whole idea of the Kriti Film Club is to place thought-provoking cinema in a discussion group that will help to deepen the understanding on social, development and human rights issues among viewers and film-makers. It is an attempt to create a forum where students, activists, academicians, development professionals, media professionals and friends can come together and interact, through meaningful cinema.
The Kriti Film Club also curates issue-based film festivals and screening events and collaborates with film festivals to nominate documentaries from its network of independent filmmakers and development sector organisations.
Email: space.kriti@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kriti.team
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