12th March 2016, Saturday
Gyaan Adab continued its endeavour to celebrate the spirit of the creative woman with two specially-crafted films BABAI (Directed by Amit Sonawane & Kavita Datir) and IN HER OWN WORDS (Directed by Annie Zaidi). These films- though different from each other in a lot of ways- brought forth a multitude of response from both film-makers and audience alike.
Babai is the story of a courageous female porter, who transports 250-300 kg material on her handcart, for her daily bread and butter. This profession of hers continues even today at the old age of 81 years. The documentary brings you up close with Babai’s stressful working day and strings it together with her interview which sheds light on her highly optimistic philosophy of life.
In Her Own Words: The Journey of Indian Women traces the lives and struggles of Indian women as reflected in their literature. Through conversations with translators, historians and writers, the film attempts to trace this journey from the first anthology of women’s writing in 6th CE, through folk songs, Bhakti (devotional) verses, the reformers and activists of the nineteenth century, and the Partition. Finally, writers describe the feminine experience of villages and cities, the contemporary socio-cultural climate in which women live and write.
ABOUT THE DIRECTORS
Amit Sonawane has more than four years’ experience of working in the mainstream film and TV industry and has taught video editing in Pune University. He runs his own production house in Pune called Saarad Production, which specializes in making corporate films, documentaries, advertisements and promotional videos. Amit has co-directed, produced and edited Babai.
Kavita Datir is a registered member of Film Writer’s Association, Mumbai. She is the co-director of Babai and has worked in the Direction wing of the mainstream Film & TV industry for more than 6 years. Kavita has worked as an Assistant Director for 4 feature films including National Award winning Marathi film ‘Deool’, and currently handles creative visualization in Saarad Production.
Annie Zaidi writes across genres. Her books include Unbound: 2,000 Years of Indian Women’s Writing, Gulab and Known Turf: Bantering with Bandits and other True Tales. Her play ‘So Many Socks’ was short-listed for the prestigious META awards. Annie has written and directed three short films and has written for a range of newspapers and magazines.
The video link for this event will be put up shortly!
