International film festival on gender diversity held at Tezpur University

OUR CORRESPONDENT

TEZPUR: A two-day international festival on gender diversity was successfully organized at Tezpur University (TU) on February 3 and February 4, 2022. The event was organized by Men Against Violence & Abuse (MAVA), an organization based in Mumbai, in collaboration with the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Tezpur University.

MAVA organizes 'Samabhav', a travelling international film festival, through which the organization spreads awareness on gender diversity across India. The film festival was attended by students from all the departments of the university wherein the young minds were engaged to promote their understanding of gender.

The festival was inaugurated by Prof. Joya Chakraborty, Head of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Tezpur University and Harish Sadani, Festival Founder and Director, Samabhav, in the presence of Prof Abhijit Bora, Department of Mass Communcation and Journalism, Tezpur University, and Dr. Madhurima Goswami, Head, Chandraprabha Saikiani Centre for Women Studies, Tezpur University with Rashmi Lamba, Festival Advisory Board Member, Samabhav and Nelson Deb, Festival Team Member, MAVA.

Some of the specially curated feature films, short films and documentaries screened as part of the fourth edition of the festival were The Great Indian Kitchen, Natkhat, My Mother's Girlfriend, Darling, Sunday, Maida, Metamorphosis, Abu, Tuloni Bia, etc. The internationally acclaimed films from countries including but not limited to Pakistan, Nepal and India have highlighted the issues of gender discrimination, gender violence, women rights and sexual and identity politics and the post screening interactive sessions had the filmmakers and other experts deliberating on the various aspects of media, gender, culture and society with the students.

"By organizing the event, we tried to give our students a platform to debate on themes and issues that are usually considered taboo or goes about unspoken," Dr. Manoj Deori, a faculty member of the department said. "We have screened Jeo Baby's The Great Indian Kitchen, after which the discussions were centered around the film's depiction of patriarchy, caste and society while with Saim Sadiq's short film Darling and Sankhajit Biswas' docu drama Metamorphosis, the discussion was aimed towards promoting gender dynamics at different levels of the society," Dr. Deori further added.

Lubna Yusuf's Maida opened conversation around the uncomfortable issues of child marriage, which is still prevalent despite numerous laws aimed towards protecting the rights of girl child. Likewise, the documentary Abu by Arshad Khan brought the intertwined issues of gender, politics and religion to the fore while Nelson Deb's Tuloni Bia, a short film, raised critical questions about the vices and virtues surrounding the celebration of a girl child taking her first steps to womanhood.

During the closing ceremony, the dignitaries shared their experiences and perspectives on the event and the issues highlighted. "The 4th edition of Samabhav was an opportunity for the youth to express non-threatening spaces to discuss on topics of taboo on which they will co-create platform for messages of gender diversity and inclusivity for all," said Mr. Harish Sadani, Festival Founder and Director, Samabhav.

The general agreement was that more of these events should be held to help build a larger discourse around gender inclusivity. "Dialogue should be in two ways. It's not men against violence, its men and women together against violence," said Rashmi Lamba, Festival Advisory Board Member, Samabhav. "I'm glad that MAVA chose the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Tezpur University for their endeavour. The screenings, with their themes of gender inclusivity, have successfully sparked a conversation among the audiences and students thereby creating a space around it," said Prof. Joya Chakraborty, Head of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Tezpur University.

"The cathartic experience of watching the films on a big screen sitting with the students and the discussions that followed each screening regarding how a film was understood and how everyone connected to it was really valuable. We look forward to possible collaboration with MAVA for the future," she added.

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