The earlier office bearers, Reena Mohan, Anupama Srinivasan and Uma
Tanuku (who was then Treasurer), patiently shared all the information at their
disposal. Their constant support and guidance helped us (the new board) gain in
confidence and plant our feet on the ground. The festival team was already at
work. We began to post on the India chapter blog the list of selected films for
the festival. And as we went public, we faced a serious reservation by
Palestinians. The Asian Film Festival always has a focus country and screens a
special package of films from that particular country. This year’s focus
country was Palestine. Believing that the spirit of creativity transcends
boundaries and politics, the curators had selected a few films from Israel,
too, only to learn that this was a blunder! Our festival director received a
mail from Palestine saying that the filmmakers would not participate if Israel
were participating, as they could not dream of sharing a platform/space with
the enemy country. They were right, in their way. We had reached the end of
January and did not have much time left.
I work in conflict zones and try to create
platforms for dialogue and negotiation. I have always been of the view that
women should be on the table to discuss peace. We started negotiations with the
Palestinians, respecting their fears, politics and concerns. But we also
believed in the festival, which celebrated diversity and differences without
animosity. We believed that, as women filmmakers and radio producers, we had to
stand up for the larger cause of women and their creativity. Our belief was
respected when a consensus emerged from the negotiations: the festival would go
on as planned, with a slight modification - we would have two venues. So
simple!
Once this was resolved, we needed funds to fly down the Palestinian
filmmakers. We approached the UNESCO India office, and Mr Al Amin, the
Communications Advisor, was more than forthcoming. He spoke with his colleagues
in Ramallah and promptly the approval was granted. UNESCO Ramallah sponsored
the travel and stay of two young filmmakers from Palestine, and UNESCO India
supported a seminar on Conflict, Gender, and Media. Nupur Basu and I curated
this seminar. The Director of UNESCO, India, invited the Palestinians to his
office for a meeting. The Palestinian Ambassador to India, despite the visit of
a high-level delegation, met and interacted with the filmmakers. I was
fortunate to have raised funds to ensure that the festival team did not face
any crunch. I was able to get support from Prasar Bharti, the autonomous body
that governs the national broadcasting agency, Punjab National Bank,a public sector bank, UNESCO and
of course from the old partners - Sangat, Goethe Institute, and India
International Center. We also got support for travel of the Korean filmmakers
from the Korean Cultural Center.
I am happy to say that the festival was, of
course, a huge success! We screened a total of 46 short and long films, 35 in
the general category and 11 in the Voices from Palestine package. We had 25
filmmakers from across Asia staying at the India International Center, the
venue of the festival. True to its voluntary spirit the IAWRT members doubled
up as moderators, facilitators, audience, technical experts, and organisers.
Two of our members, Radha Mishra (now Secretary) from Pune and Mausumi
Bhattacharya (a board member) from Santiniketan, got their students to volunteer.
We organised another seminar on Documenting Feminism in Films in the 80s and
90s. This seminar was initiated and curated by Shikha Jhingan and Uma
Chakravarti, members of IAWRT, India chapter. On the last day, when around 100
people, friends of IAWRT, filmmakers, sponsors and members came together to
celebrate the success and the closing of the festival, the Gods decided to play
spoilsport. It started pouring! So all arrangements that had been Volume 5,
Issue 1 20 made in the beautiful lawns went for a toss, and the venue was
shifted to a verandah. But the spirit of the IAWRT team is hard to dampen, so
the party carried on and nearly all the invitees showed up. From organising
inexpensive meals for the audience, to informing students, universities and film
enthusiasts, to fundraising, hosting a closing dinner, screening 46 films,
organising to pick up and drop 25 filmmakers, hosting two discussions, handling
the press, and keeping an audience of over 200 daily for three days, was not an
easy job.
Thanks to the diligence of the IAWRT members, the Board, the
endlessly supportive, outgoing Board, the marvelous festival team and an
energetic Festival Director, the 12th IAWRT Asian Film Festival was yet another
successful event! But we cannot rest on our laurels, can we? This is just the
first of many events. This Board’s vision is to increase our activities, to
host more small festivals, to help this festival travel all over the country
and to other festivals, and to participate in national and international events
that share common concerns. Our aim is to keep the flag flying and the spirits
of the IAWRT members soaring!
( Printed in the IAWRT newsletter)