NEHU to host film festival on gender diversity

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaFebruary 23, 2019

SHILLONG: A two-day film festival on gender diversity called ‘Samabhav’ which means Equanimity will be held for the first time at the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong from February 25-26.

Organized by the Men Against Violence and Abuse (MAVA), based in Mumbai and working for past 26 years to stop gender-based violence on women by engaging men and boys, in collaboration with the NEHU Students’ Union, the theme of the festival is gender, masculinity and diversity.

The festival is open to all university and college students, young filmmakers, film enthusiasts and representatives of social organizations across Shillong. It will be held at Multi-Convention Auditorium, NEHU from 10 am to 6 pm. There is No Entry fee for participation.

Chief Functionary of MAVA Harish Sadani in a statement said the 2-day festival, first of its kind in India, is part of a Travelling festival that has begun in November 2018 at Hyderabad, thereafter to Mumbai, Goa, Delhi, Haryana, Lucknow, Bhandara (Maharashtra) and will be travelling at Shillong, Jaipur, Vadodara, Aurangabad, Nashik & Satara districts.

He said young people studying in Universities /Colleges that run under-graduate and professional courses in Arts, Commerce, Science, Management, Technology streams and also for members of civil society including those working on human rights and gender are invited.

“The travelling film festival would engage youths through healthy conversations with experts on contemporary gender issues and Intersectionality, related to all 3 genders (Men, Women and Transgenders), and advocate for a healthy, pluralistic, gender-just society,” Sadani said.

The overall goal is to increase youth awareness of gender-based discrimination and violence through film screenings and facilitated discussions.

The fest aims to provide a safe, non-threatening platform to ventilate differences and celebrate diversity in Gender.

The fest,that is being held in 13 locations during November 2018 to March this year is featuring around 17 national and international short films, documentaries and feature films on gender.

These films cover a wide range of gender matters – from various forms of gender-based discrimination / violence against women to homophobia and transphobia to challenging the male gender stereotypes and dominant model of Masculinity.

La Mana (Not Allowed), Any Other Day, Boys Who Like Girls (Finland), The Forsaken, She Objects (Hongkong) Gray, Anthadi, Juice, The World Before Her, Velvet Revolution, Khara Ki Khota are among the notable films that would be screened.

Animated discussions over screening of bunch of films would be a key part of the 2-day Program.

Noted activists Agnes Kharshiing and Angela Rangad, filmmaker Tarun Bhartiya, gender rights activists Samanda Phanwar, Harish Sadani, Suraj Kamdar and Suraj Pawar will be among the key discussants at the fest.