Latest news with #SamaBhav
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Lights, camera & conversation: SamaBhav Film Festival comes to Ahmedabad, to screen films on gender and diversity
The seventh edition of the two-day SamaBhav International Film Festival, a traveling film festival exploring themes of gender, masculinity, sexuality, and diversity, will kick off in Ahmedabad on Saturday. The festival is being organised in Ahmedabad for the first time. The festival features 25 curated films from around the world, including fiction, documentaries, and experimental works that showcase intersectional voices and perspectives. Some of the highlighted films include 'Black Box Diaries' from Japan, 'Call Me Dancer' from the US and UK, and 'We The Puffcorns of India', among others. Over two days, the festival will travel to multiple locations, including five international destinations such as Sri Lanka and the UK, and 23 venues across India, such as Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai, as well as rural districts. Festival founder and director Harish Sadani told The Indian Express: 'With the support of a committed faculty and youth who are inspired, we are using cinema as a catalyst to spark critical dialogue, self-reflection, and meaningful change around issues of gender, identity, equity, and justice. The festival aims to provide a safe platform to open up, ventilate differences and celebrate diversity in gender.' Alliance Française d'Ahmedabad in collaboration with Men Against Violence and Abuse (MAVA), a voluntary organisation based in Mumbai, is organising the two-day non-ticketed and independent travelling film festival. The festival is open to all university and college students, young filmmakers, film enthusiasts and representatives of civil society organisations. The film festival timings on July 12-13, from 2 to 8 pm, at The French Gallery, Alliance Française d'Ahmedabad has been deliberately kept in the afternoon for the convenience of participants, said Sadani. 'The travelling film festival would engage youths through stirring conversations… The films cover a wide range of issues ranging from gender-based discrimination, violence against women to transphobia to breaking the gender binaries and toxic masculinity,' Sadani added. Gender rights activists Renu Khanna, Sejal Dand, Kunthu Banthia, Hirva Thankey, Kunaal, Sumit Waykos, filmmaker Arastu Zakiya, Writer Debeyendu Ganguly, Prof Navdeep Mathur, Prof Chirag Trivedi will be among the key members taking part in the festival. MAVA has been organising SamaBhav since 2017-18 across the length and breadth of the country. The previous six editions of the film festival have engaged over 18,000 university and college youths, civil society bodies' members being held in 52 cities and 18 rural districts across India, the organisers said. 'These films are more than artistic expressions—they intervene in society, challenge dominant narratives, and expand the space for empathy, introspection, and collective transformation. SamaBhav is not just a festival of screenings; it is a living archive of empathy, resistance and radical hope, engaging young minds and communities across borders,' Sadani said.
Hindustan Times
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Sensitising youth on gender through films
The Netflix series Adolescence sparked a debate on toxic masculinity, demonstrating the power of online platforms, TV and film in shaping society. A film festival is similarly triggering debate across India — six editions of the Travelling International Film Festival, called SamaBhav, which is organised by Men Against Abuse and Violence (MAVA), have been held in 52 cities and 22 rural districts, reaching 18,000+ youth through educational institutions and civil society organisations. The festival comprises selected national and international films that cover a wide gamut of gender and human rights issues, including various forms of gender-based discrimination/violence, patriarchy, misogyny, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and redefining masculinity. The post-screening discussions enable young audiences to debate and reflect on their biases, societal prejudices and regressive attitudes around gender, advocating for a pluralistic, inclusive society. The festival has also gone to Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia and Bhutan. ''Seven years ago, as an experiment I planned and organised a two-day film festival at SNDT Women's University in Mumbai. Hundreds of students affiliated to SNDT actively participated and the venue was full. That motivated me to organise this as an annual travelling film festival and activists such as Kamla Bhasin encouraged us to take the festival to our neigbouring countries,' says Harish Sadani, cofounder of MAVA and the founder-director of SamaBhav. The carefully curated films have been stirring vital conversations among youth. Many viewers in 2-tier and 3-tier cities have been expressing how the film festival has been an eye-opening, immersive experience for them that provided fresh insights and perspectives on contemporary gender matters, which normally are not deliberated upon in institutional settings. A significant number of educational institutes have been inviting the MAVA team for stand-alone film festivals that are hosted in their respective districts with the pro-active involvement of student leaders. A few corporates have also arranged screenings of SamaBhav for their employees as part of their Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) initiatives. UNICEF supported MAVA's effort in engaging 260 plus school teachers of Osmanabad district in Maharashtra over SamaBhav film screenings and dialogue. Akshat Sharma, a first-year law student at KES JP Law College, Mumbai says, 'The Travelling Film Festival left me speechless. It challenged stereotypes and social norms, pushing us to confront the harsh realities of our society. The films were more than just stories — they were reflections of our collective conscience. Women of My Billion was one such film that hit me hard, featuring real women sharing their raw, unfiltered stories, their voices trembling with emotion. It was like I was witnessing their struggles firsthand. I wasn't the only one; the entire room was silent, everyone's eyes welling up with tears. Each film tackled a different social issue, speaking to someone in the audience on a deeply personal level. It was like the stories on screen were echoing our own experiences, making us confront our realities and bringing a sense of empathy and understanding.'' These films are a way youth can connect over common patterns of gender-related issues that we find in India and the neighbouring regions. What they need is a safe and non-threatening platform to discuss their fears and concerns and listen to different and fresh perspectives. Through the travelling film festival post-screening, a sizeable number of youth across India were able to express and exchange their innermost thoughts, perspectives and differences. What has been heartening is that young men seem more amenable to listening to their women counterparts whether in colleges or workplaces. It has also provided a space for non-binary youth to find a safe open space to discuss their vulnerabilities and concerns. Dr Arjun PC from Palakkad Medical College who took the initiative to organise the festival on his campus says, 'More than just a film screening event, SamaBhav created space for meaningful conversations on gender-based violence, discrimination, equality, equity, and queer rights through powerful films. A notable film was Kaathal, starring Mammootty which left a strong emotional impact on the audience. It addressed issues such as internalised homophobia, masculinity, and the family dynamics of a closeted and later openly queer person. These films have certainly left a lasting impression on the hearts of budding medicos. Medical colleges, like many other institutions, still carry traces of homophobic and transphobic attitudes. Within that cultural fabric, these films provided a powerful counter-narrative, sparking vital conversations among students and faculty alike.'' This sort of effort needs to be scaled up and SamaBhav plans to deepen its impact through its forthcoming 7th edition by travelling to 18 new cities and rural districts. At a time when social media is throwing up new challenges as we saw in Adolescence, a festival which promotes a critical dialogue among the wider youth population is invaluable and enables them to look at contemporary gender issues through an intersectional lens. The views expressed are personal Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
