12th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne sets record by giving platform to 34 woman filmmakers

The upcoming twelfth Indian Film Festival of Melbourne has set a record by selecting the works of as many as 34 woman filmmakers in the total of 100 official selections.

The Australian festival, now slated to have only an online edition from 15 to 30 August, has raised anticipation for a unique experience by providing a platform for diverse female voices through the screening of short, feature and documentary films.

The 34 official selections include National award-winning director Rima Das’s For Each Other (2019) , Karishma Dev Dube’s Oscar top 10 short-list short film Bittu (2020), Maanvi Chowdhary’s About Mumma (2020) and Suchi Talati’s A Period Piece (2020). These and other films represent powerful storytelling from different regions of India in Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi.

“It has been wonderful to see so many incredibly strong and profound stories from female filmmakers," said festival director Mithu Bhowmick Lange. "They are feisty, unapologetic, and offer a new perspective. From human rights to gender discrimination to emotional human stories, the wide range covers it all. We are very, very excited and privileged to showcase these films.”

Dube’s 17 minute short Bittu, which questions the apathetic nature of humans and explores the trait of negligence as well, will be screened on the opening night of the festival along with Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar (1963) and Ajitesh Sharma’s WOMB: Women Of My Billion (2021).

Delighted to get an international platform, Dube said, “It's a massive honour for me that Bittu will be opening the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Making a short film comes with no guarantee that it will find an audience or platform, so for the film to find a home all the way across the world means the world to me. I hope I can attend the festival in person someday."

The Melbourne festival was earlier planned in both physical and online modes, but it has now been converted into an online-only festival because of the reimposition of a lockdown in the Victorian city.

Das, on the other hand, has seen Bhowmick Lange taking a personal interest in encouraging women filmmakers and including diverse voices. “She has been doing a commendable job year after year along with her team and it's always a pleasure to be back at the festival,” the Assamese fimmaker said.

Focused on bringing more stories from her village, the maker of For Each Other (2019) said, “If I have to, all my life I can make films in and around my village because I can see so many stories around me. Imagine how many stories are waiting to be told in a country like India with so much diversity, communities, cultures, languages, etc. And each woman would have a different perspective on freedom, identity, feminism, love, etc, depending on who we are and where we come from.”

Das further noted that the world over, male filmmakers outnumber female directors by a big margin and stories are often told from the male perspective. “Even the top international festivals like Cannes, Toronto and Berlin are seeing a gradual rise in films by women filmmakers and women jury members. Maybe it would take another 10 years to see a significant change. But I am very happy that there is a serious attempt to see stories from the women's voice and perspective,” she said.

Excited to have her short documentary A Period Piece selected in both the Short Film and The Future Is Female categories, Talati said, “I’m thrilled that A Period Piece is in such incredible company and part of the rise of female voices in Indian cinema.

“I made A Period Piece for women, so that we could see ourselves, our sexuality and bodies represented on screen from a female, feminist gaze, and I can’t wait to see the stories the other women at the festival have chosen to turn their lens on.”

The director of About Mumaa had not expected her film to be selected for the festival. “I am so glad to share this film at such a diverse platform,” Maanvi Chowdhary said. “Stories of disabilities and livelihood need to be shared and my mother's journey is truly extraordinary. We both are very happy to see our film a part of this festival.”

Chowdhary said she is waiting eagerly to watch the “incredible stories of women by women” at the festival.