Video films by peasant women filmmakers

Affirming Life and Diversity: Rural Images and Voices on Food Sovereignty in South India

Deccan Development Society India, Hyderabad and the Network of Women in Media, Bangalore cordially invite you to the launch of a unique publication:

Affirming Life and Diversity: Rural Images and Voices on Food Sovereignty in South India
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Auditorium, Race Course Road, Bangalore 560001
10:30 am to 3 pm on 18 June 2008

Our partners in hosting this event are Communication for Development and Learning (CDL), Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR), Sarathi and Openspace.

Affirming Life and Diversity is a multimedia publication comprising 12 video films made by the peasant women filmmakers of the DDS Community Media Trust based in Pastapur, Medak District, Andhra Pradesh. A short note on the publication is attached for your information.

The public event will include screening of selected parts from the films, a presentation of their work by the rural women film-makers, and a panel discussion involving media and social activists — especially people with a special interest in gender and Dalit concerns.

The panelists include Deepa Dhanraj (well known film-maker), Keya Acharya (Development Journalist; Correspondent Inter Press Service), Dr. Ila Vijaya (film critic and actor), and Jyothi (Founder Director of Rural Education and Development Society, Tumkur).

The afternoon session will feature interactions between the women film-makers from Andhra Pradesh and women from rural and urban Karnataka, including some running community media of their own, on questions of food security/sovereignty and media autonomy. Dr. Suchithra Vedanth, Director, Mahila Samakhya – Karnataka, will respond to the discussion.

The event promises an exciting and meaningful exchange of information and views on a subject of vital current interest, especially in the context of the ongoing global food crisis. For details, contact: Charumathi Supraja at 94490 62588 or Centre for Advocacy and Research, 80-4151 1821; 4151 2949

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Story

Safety still out of reach: Everyday struggles of women with disabilities

Women with disabilities face increased risks in public and private spaces because of consent violations, unsafe surroundings and neglect.

Every morning, Samidha Dhumatkar travels from her home in Mumbai’s western suburbs to Churchgate, where she works as a telephone operator at a university campus. Her journey involves taking a rickshaw, boarding a train, and walking to her workplace, similar to thousands of other Mumbaikars who commute daily. However, as a person with a visual disability, Samidha’s commute is fraught with threats to her safety. In their book, Why Loiter? Women and Risk on Mumbai Streets, writers Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan, and Shilpa Ranade, argue that spaces are not neutral. Moreover, they are not designed equally. “Across geography and time,…

Similar Story

India’s stray dog debate puts the nation’s conscience on trial

Street dogs spark a national test — will India choose compassion or fear as law, humanity and coexistence come under strain?

At the heart of a nation’s character lies how it treats its most vulnerable. Today, India finds its soul stretched on a rack, its conscience torn between compassion and conflict, its legal pillars wobbling under the weight of a single, heartbreaking issue: the fate of its street dogs. What began as a Supreme Court suo moto hearing on August 11th has morphed into a national referendum on empathy, duty, and coexistence, exposing a deep, painful schism. Two sides Caregivers and animal lovers: They follow Animal Birth Control (ABC) and Catch-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (CNVR). Their goal is to reduce dog populations and rabies…