‘Documenting Women in Reel and Real Life’ Faculty of Media Studies, Manav Rachna International University in association with Phoenix Infralab organized a National Documentary Film Festival “Creative Cut II” on Women’s Issues Films are a reflection of life in its truest sense. To mark International Women’s Day (8 March), Faculty of Media Studies (FMeS), Manav Rachna International University (MRIU), organised a one day National Documentary Film Festival Creative Cut II on Women’s Issues on 10 March, 2014. The aim was to focus upon women-centric issues and create awareness through documentary films as a tool. The inaugural session attended by Dr N.C. Wadhwa (Vice Chancellor, Manav Rachna International University), Col, (Retd) V.K. Gaur (Advisor, Manav Rachna College of Education), Ms Mamta Sharma (Chairperson, National Commission for Women), Ms Meenakshi Lekhi (Spokesperson, BJP), Ms Jaya Jaitley (Chairperson, Dastkari Haat Samiti, politician and activist), Ms Manju Shree (Renowned Speaker on Women’s Empowerment), Ms Suman Kansra (First Lady Cameraperson of the Indian Media Industry), Padma Shree. Santosh Yadav (Youngest Police Officer to climb Mount Everest), Ms. Sikta Dev (Editor, NDTV), Mr Sudhanshu Ranjan (Chief Correspondent, Delhi Doordarshan ), Mr Pratap Somvanshi (Senior Resident Editor, Hindustan), among others, threw the spotlight on women and how best to empower them in an age of rampant gender discrimination. Expressing his views on the subject of women’s emancipation, Dr Prashant Bhalla (Chancellor, Manav Rachna International University) said, “We in this knowledge economy need to empower women in the true sense of the word. The garb of male chauvinism needs to be shed and the true place of women in our society needs to be recognized by one and all if India has to attain numero uno status in the comity of nations.” He congratulated FMeS for organizing a documentary film festival on women related issues and was joined in the appreciation by Dr Amit Bhalla (Vice President, MRIU). Highlighting the fact that “a documentary film can be seen as a prophet, explorer, painter, advocate, prosecuter, observer and catalyst”, Dr Amit Bhalla said, “Such focused and creative efforts not only helps to understand the various aspects of documentary production, but also motivates and inspires the youth to contribute in this field.” The Festival, witnessed by Faculty and students of Manav Rachna Educational Institutions, began with the lighting of the lamp of wisdom and invocation to Goddess Saraswati. Addressing the august gathering, Dr N.C. Wadhwa, recounted the pioneering efforts of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, one of the great reformers of renaissance India, in liberating women from the shackles of sati. He said that the issue of women’s empowerment gains importance when seen in the light of equal opportunities and equity between the gender ethnic groups. It also implies “collective participation in different spheres of life—cultural, social, political, economic, development and decision making”. Wishing the festival a great success, Professor Umesh Kalra (Dean, Faculty of Media Studies and Faculty of Commerce and Humanities, MRIU) said, “The FMeS-organised festival not only highlights women’s issues but also showcases the skills of journalism students across India on a common platform.” Eminent women who were the special invitees on the occasion also had their say. Meenakshi Lekhi (chief guest at the event) said, “Women were never the shadows of the menfolk in times long gone. We do not want a man versus woman society in today’s world since injustice against women is a common cause for which we should all raise a voice.” Speaking on the subject of women’s empowerment, Guest of honour Jaya Jaitley lamented the plight of women whether in jails or at the home or workplace. She called for women to stand on their own feet rather than ask for Reservation to secure their position in society. While focusing on gender inequality, Suman Kansra said that women need to empower themselves and not rely on others to give it to her on a platter. Santosh Yadav reasoned that the divisive forces in society make it imperative for us to fall back on Indian traditions and culture to give the right ‘sanskriti’ and ‘sanskar’ to our children. Education of women across all strata of society formed the crux of Ms Mamta Sharma’s speech and there were many who agreed with her wholeheartedly. Looking to the grassroots, Professor Manju Shree recounted her own work in the tribal areas and said that women can play a significant role in the nation building process if we address her safety concerns. Col. (Retd) V.K. Gaur, had an optimistic view based on the scriptures, emphasizing that women are already empowered and need to be worldly wise to face the challenges of day to day life. The Film festival took up a wide range of women’s issues, be it female foeticide, victims of acid attack or women faced with domestic violence and drudgery. There were prizes galore on films that had women as their central protagonist. The FMeS department received 35 entries in both Short films and documentary categories from all across the country and a pre-screening was commenced on International Women’s Day. All the Short films/Documentaries were screened and judged by renowned film makers and media persons. Subsequently three best entries from each category were awarded. The event concluded on a positive note that women need to be given their rightful place if we are to forge ahead as a progressive nation. The following Documentary and Short Film were awarded Documentary Film : Ist Prize- ‘Maa’ FMeS, MRIU IInd Prize- ‘Nishan’ Manglayatam University, Aligarh IIIrd Prize- Mann Ki Aashayein Short Film : Ist Prize- ‘Asha ki Kiran’ FMeS, MRIU IInd Prize- ‘Sangini’ IIIrd Prize-‘Be the Change’ M.S University, Baroda
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 07:17:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015