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Nation Posted On Sunday, February 07, 2010 | United News of India
New Delhi, Feb 7:
At a time when Bollywood turns its focus on stories of dogged human spirit triumphing against all odds in 'Taare Zameen Par', 'Paa' and 'My Name Is Khan', the ''never-say-die'' spirit forms the common thread of the nearly 32 films to be screened at this year's edition of the 'We Care' Film festival on disability issues.
A total of 32 short features and documentaries from India and overseas have been selected for screening in this year's ''We Care'' film festival on disability issues being held in different parts of the country as a travelling festival over the next few months.
With its basic theme of 'Dignity and Justice for All', the seventh ''We Care'' Film festival, organised by Brotherhood in association with the National Trust, Asian Academy of Film and Television (AAFT), United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan (UNIC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), will travel to about 12 locations in India from February to mid-April 2010.
The films were selected from just over 50 entries received on various issues of disability from different countries including India.
The review Committee was headed by Marwah Studio President Sandeep Marwah and included Mr Shankar Choudhary (Senior Programme Officer, UNESCO), Ms Saoirse (United Nations Volunteer, UNESCO), Media Professional and filmmaker Sanjeev Upadhyay, Senior Media Consultant and Film Critic B B Nagpal, Ms Deepa Jain (Psychologist and filmmaker), Ms Gopa Mukherjee (Journalist and Filmmaker) and Mr Abhinav, (Head IT, AAFT).
''Each of the films selected by a Preview Committee has a story to tell, tales of dogged human spirit that has triumphed against all odds,'' Founder Director of We Care Filmfest Satish Kapoor said.
''A world that truly embraces diversity is one where the rights, dignity, and well-being of individuals are realised regardless of differences in race, faith, gender or ability.
People living with disabilities often surprise us with their abilities, with what they can do rather than what they cannot do, but not many tell their stories,'' Kapoor said.
The venues include Apeejay Institute of Mass Communications, New Delhi, (February 9); BITS Pilani, Goa (February 12-14 ); Zakir Husain College (Morning), Delhi University ( February 16-17); Doon University, Dehradun (February 19-21); Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Dhenkanal, Orissa (February 24-26); Himachal University, Shimla (March 16-18); Jaipur National University, Jaipur ( March 19-21 ); Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi (March 20-21); Amity University, Noida (March 29-30); Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai (March 31 and April 1); School of Film and Mass Communication, Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Allahabad (April 7-9).
The concluding screening of the festival will be held at IIC Main Auditorium, India International Centre, New Delhi on May 3, coinciding with the third anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted on May 3, 2008 to which India is also a signatory.
The function will include the awards ceremony, and release of DVDs/VCDs of the films. These events are being organised by students of mass communications, journalism and filmmaking institutes, and governmental and non-governmental organisations working in the disability sector will be invited to the festivals.
Kapoor said, ''The Festival is an opportunity for all students to develop their understanding and perspectives relating to disability issues besides contributing to the process of participatory rating.
This will help the students whenever they plan to make short films/documentaries on disability. And the general audience will be sensitised on various issues of disability.'' According to Mr Marwah, ''The festival reflects the power of visuals on human perception. Through its selection of documentaries, the event aims to use the visual medium as a tool to advocate attitudinal and behavioural changes, promote the inclusion of people with disabilities, and rid people of the various misconceptions, myths and prejudices surrounding disability issues.'' Brotherhood has pioneered the We Care Filmfest on Disability issues in India since its inception in 2003, and renowned actor cum social activist Nandita Das is among those who first conceptualised the event.
The organisation has been working towards mainstreaming disability issues since 1994 through the screening of films, filmmaking workshops for persons with disabilities, scriptwriting workshops for those with visual impairments, and more. Activities involve children with disabilities and those without, with a view to shedding light on the similarities and not the differences between them.
For the last three years, a unique participatory rating process has been introduced where the audience rates each film and an independent jury judges the films on the basis of these ratings.
This approach goes a long way in familiarising audiences, especially students, with people living with disabilities, and at the same time encourages filmmakers to tell their stories.
By introducing this practice, it was found that ''learning while rating'' is the most powerful practice to sensitise the audience and specially students towards various issues of disability.
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Sunday, August 01, 2010