Cinema Beyond Stereotypes, this year's theme for Oxfam Best Film On Gender Equality Award 2018 at Jio MAMI 20th Mumbai Film Festival with Star
- By
- 04 Oct, 2018
Nine films have been shortlisted for this year’s Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award 2018 at Jio MAMI 20th Mumbai Film Festival with Star.
The films in the reckoning for this year's Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award are powerful dramas, in various Indian languages, that make compelling social commentary on the times we live in.
This year, Oxfam India is challenging filmmakers, producers and artists to create cinema that breaks the stereotypical portrayal of male and female characters in films. The theme for this year’s award is “Cinema Beyond Stereotypes”.
In 2017, Rima Das' Assamese film 'Village Rockstars' won the Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award at MAMI and later bagged the National Award and is now India's official entry to the Oscars.
Director Rima Das will be one of the jury members for this year’s award along with National Award winning actor Parvathy and CEO of the Doha Film Institute Fatima Al Remaihi.
From Marathi film 'Imago' that tells the story of a shy, teenage girl battling leucoderma and the social stigma around it; to 'Hamid' that explores the two sides of the Kashmir conflict through the eyes of an 8-year-old boy; to Kannada film 'Balekempa' that revolves around a couple unable to conceive a child; and Bengali film 'Jonaki' that explores an 80-year-old woman's search for love are on the list.
Making the decision even tougher for the jury are five other strong films ‘Soni’ a Hindi film directed by Ivan Ayr; ‘Jaoon Kahan Bata Ae Dil’ directed by Aadish Keluskar; ‘Light In The Room’ (‘Ottamuri Velicham’) directed by Rahul Riji Nair; Kannada film ‘Nathicharami’ directed by Mansore and ‘Sivaranjani And Two Other Women’, a Tamil film directed by Vasanth S Sai.
Amitabh Behar, CEO of Oxfam India said:
“We are thrilled that this year the number of shortlisted films have increased from four films last year to nine. This is a reflection of the changing times in cinema industry worldwide. Stories that uphold a mirror to socio-political realities in India and that defy stereotypes of caste, class and gender are being made, accepted and appreciated. Women in films are making space to be heard both on and off-screen. The award is to appreciate, celebrate and support stories and people in the industry challenging the status quo. The shortlisted films are in different Indian languages--- Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Bengali and each film has an arresting narrative. It gives us great joy that last year's winner 'Village Rockstars' is this year India’s entry for the Oscars."
The winner of the Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award 2018 at MAMI for this year will be announced on November 1st, 2018 - on the closing night of the festival.
For media queries please contact Media Coordinator, Himanshi Matta, himanshi@oxfamindia.org, 8860182310
Recent News
Related Stories
06 May, 2022
Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh
Ombeeri Devi : A Champion of Equal Wages
Ombeeri fought against alcoholism, discrimination against dalits, and gender pay gap in the sugarcane fields. She encouraged her daughter to train as a beautician and run a parlour at home, something that the latter set up at her marital home. Ombeeri ensured that her daughter in law completed her B.Ed. She was among the eight felicitated by Oxfam India for working for women empowerment.
Read More
05 May, 2022
Nainital, Uttarakhand
A House For Tulsi Devi
Tulsi Devi and 51 other families in Ramnagar and Ramgarh blocks in Nainital district in Uttarakhand were provided with temporary shelter kits to tide over harsh winters and wild animals after the landslides in October 2021. This was part of our flood and landslide response in Ramnagar, Ramgarh and Okhalkanda block in Nainital district in Uttarakhand.
Read More
04 May, 2022
Kerala
Bringing Relief To Families: Kerala Flood Response
Ammini, Kunjipennu, Pathumma and Susheela have a few things in common. They are from Kerala and were drastically affected by the 2021 floods. They were all also facing immense financial struggles both before and after the pandemic, when the floods worsened their financial situation. The ‘Kerala Landslide and Flood Response Programme 2021’ was launched. Under this, 2771 families received food and relief kits.
Read More
02 May, 2022
Nalanda, Bihar
Farmer Field Schools: Boosting Farm Productivity And Confidence
In November 2021, Oxfam India set up two Farmer Field Schools in each of its 15 villages. The School is a demonstrative farmer field—where a selected lead farmer demonstrates advanced and technology-savvy agricultural methods.This is also the learning centre for other farmers in the village.
Read More
