SamaBhav touring film festival on gender equity to reach Kerala on September 11
A travelling film festival that began its journey in Mumbai this week will stop at Kalady in Kochi on September 11 and 12 with films, music videos and the promise of a space for young people to come together, listen to and talk about gender. This is the eighth edition of the SamaBhav Film Festival, focussing on gender equity and diversity, put together by the Men Against Violence and Abuse (MAVA). In its Kerala leg this time, the MAVA is collaborating with the Kerala Institute of Gender Equity. “The idea is to give a safe space for young people to ventilate, because there is a woeful dearth of such spaces to open up and talk about their innermost concerns about gender, sexuality, masculinity,” says Harish Sadani, co founder and executive director of MAVA, India. MAVA began its efforts in 1993 to engage young men to address issues of gender discrimination, and over the years, expanded their work to schools, colleges and communities. They have mentored over 1200 young men to reach out to their peers in advocating rights of women and other gender minorities to live with dignity. Samabhav began in 2017-18. "In all such work aimed at removing gender bias, the focus is on women and other gender minorities. We have been trying to engage heterosexual cis men in these conversations," Harish says. In the two-day programme designed for Kerala are screenings of films such as A Poem for Bilkis Dadi, a short documentary on women's movement in India by feminist historian Uma Chakravarti, Ru Ba Ru, a film on two sisters in rural Rajasthan by Kapil Tanwar, and Finding Nabi, a short by award-winning filmmaker Rukshana Tabassum. The festival, which is held in association with the Embassy of Iceland, also brings the film The Day Iceland Stood Still on the landmark women's strike in 1975 when women walked away from their homes and jobs and brought the country to a standstill. Other films include Iss Taraf, Greeshmaant, Baithi Hai, The First Film, Bodycount, Fursat, Majma, Pehli Taarikh, You Want Company?, Auratein, Lonely Shadow and Seeta's Daughter. There are also a number of panel discussions on topics such as 'Whose Gender? Whose Freedom?', 'Everyday Lives, Unequal Worlds', 'Masculinity, Desire and Intimate Power', and 'Beyond Gender: Reimagining How We Live Together'. "The panel discussions follow a gradation, starting from 'Whose Gender' and progressing into deeper topics. It goes from plain conversations to provocative topics and finally panels that include psychologists," says Deepak Nair, coordinator of the festival in Kerala. The festival, held at Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, is open to all, with a ticket charge of Rs 250. It will also be coming to Thiruvananthapuram later this year or the beginning of next year. The travelling festival, which will go through 25 venues in India and also stop at Kathmandu in Nepal, will end in March 2027.
A TRAVELLING film festival that began its journey in Mumbai this week will stop at Kalady in Kochi on September 11 and 12 with films, music videos and the promise of a space for young people to come together, listen to and talk about gender. This is the eighth edition of the SamaBhav Film Festival, focussing on gender equity and diversity, put together by the Men Against Violence and Abuse (MAVA).
In its Kerala leg this time, MAVA is collaborating with the Kerala Institute of Gender Equity.
“The idea is to give a safe space for young people to ventilate, because there is a woeful dearth of such spaces to open up and talk about their innermost concerns about gender, sexuality, masculinity,” says Harish Sadani, co-founder and executive director of MAVA, India.
MAVA began its efforts in 1993 to engage young men to address issues of gender discrimination, and over the years, expanded their work to schools, colleges and communities. They have mentored over 1200 young men to reach out to their peers in advocating rights of women and other gender minorities to live with dignity. Samabhav began in 2017-18.
"In all such work aimed at removing gender bias, the focus is on women and other gender minorities. We have been trying to engage heterosexual cis men in these conversations," Harish says.
In the two-day programme designed for Kerala are screenings of films such as A Poem for Bilkis Dadi, a short documentary on the women's movement in India by feminist historian Uma Chakravarti, Ru Ba Ru, a film on two sisters in rural Rajasthan by Kapil Tanwar, and Finding Nabi, a short by award-winning filmmaker Rukshana Tabassum.
The festival, which is held in association with the Embassy of Iceland, also brings the film The Day Iceland Stood Still on the landmark women's strike in 1975, when women walked away from their homes and jobs and brought the country to a standstill.
Other films include Iss Taraf, Greeshmaant, Baithi Hai, The First Film, Bodycount, Fursat, Majma, Pehli Taarikh, You Want Company?, Auratein, Lonely Shadow and Seeta's Daughter.
There are also several panel discussions on topics such as 'Whose Gender? Whose Freedom?', 'Everyday Lives, Unequal Worlds', 'Masculinity, Desire and Intimate Power', and 'Beyond Gender: Reimagining How We Live Together'.
"The panel discussions follow a gradation, starting from 'Whose Gender' and progressing into deeper topics. It goes from plain conversations to provocative topics and finally panels that include psychologists," says Deepak Nair, coordinator of the festival in Kerala.
The festival, held at Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, is open to all, with a ticket charge of Rs 250. It will also be coming to Thiruvananthapuram later this year or the beginning of next year.
The travelling festival, which will go through 25 venues in India and also stop at Kathmandu in Nepal, will end in March 2027.
