IFFK: Panel Discussion on Women in Indian Cinema

IFFK festival curator Golda Salem, filmmaker Rima Das, actress Ansuya Sengupta, cinematographer Fauzia Fathima and actress Kani Kusruti.

Representation of women in Indian cinema was the main panel discussion on day seven of the 29th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) on Thursday. Four women including contemporary Indian cinema actresses Kani Kusruti, Anusaya Sengupta, filmmaker Rima Das and cinematographer Fauzia Fatima participated in the session chaired by festival curator Golda Salem.

Actors said that women are capable of increasing the longevity of their careers. They unanimously voiced that the increased participation of women in storytelling has opened up a whole new world of unexplored stories and perspectives. However, especially in the technical field of the film industry, the representation of women is still low, Fozia said. The panel has expressed concern over the difficulty in raising funds for films directed by women filmmakers.

There should be a place where women filmmakers can work freely without putting more pressure on their field,’ said Kani Kusruthi. Women should be privileged to make bad movies, Ms. Kani added, reflecting the relative intolerance towards women filmmakers.

Reema Das said that the practice of keeping binary sections from the perspective of men and women is unacceptable and said that movies should be inclusive of every spectrum of human identity. She said that although there is a new spectrum of inclusion and diversity, there is still a lot of work to be done to become a strong force. Ms. Das added, the key to establishing a stable ground for women in cinema is to work consistently.

The panel praised Kerala’s film culture for building a film literate society.