On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2019, a talk on the “Role of Women in India” was held at Films Division, Mumbai. The talk was organised by Films Division, in collaboration with FICCI FLO, an all-India organisation for women.
“Films Division is a department under the Films Wings of Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. It produces documentary films. It has regional offices in Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi. It was set up in the year 1948 to disseminate public policies among the general public. Since there was no television at that time, film was a major medium of communication. Films Division was mandated with covering VVIP visits and has rare footages of important leaders. Films Division also produces short films and animation films.” Addressing the gathering, Director General, Films Division, Shri Prashant Pathrabe
He continued, “The Division has a very professional good technical and production set-up. It has a very well-equipped camera section, editing section and state-of-the-art sound studio. So the entire sequence of work involved in making a film, television commercial, documentary or animation film can be performed here. It also has a treasure-trove of rare footage which can be accessed by film-makers for study and reference. Films Division also organises Mumbai International Films Festival every two years; the next MIFF will be held in January 2020.”
Chairman of FICCI FLO Mumbai chapter, Ms. Monica Chaturvedi said: “For FICCI FLO, every day is Women’s Day. We try to touch lives of women across various sections of society. Our vision is power to empower. We run various skilling programmes with the help of NGOs to make women employable and we also train women for leadership roles. We are with them at every stage of this journey. We want to make women financially powerful”.
Two short films, The Exceptional Runner – Shalini Saraswati and And whose image is that anyway, were screened during the function.
The Exceptional Runner – Shalini Saraswati depicts Ms.Shalini Saraswati, a woman who lost all her limbs to a dangerous viral infection rickettsia. Despite that, Mr. Shalini did not lose hope and bettered her life by concentrating on her home, career and finally in the sport of running. She has participated in the 10K TCS Marathon and has now set a goal of participating in the 2020 Olympics.
And whose image is that anyway by Premraj Rajagopalan looks at the portrayal of women in Indian Cinema. It does this through by showing the thought processes of filmmakers while deciding on female roles.
Decoding Bollywood, sub-titled Stories of 15 Film Directors, a book authored by Ms. Sonia Golani, was also launched on this occasion.
An advertisement for Times She Entrepreneur Award 2019 was also launched on the occasion.
Later in the evening, there will be a screening of the film “My Home India”, at Films Division. The film depicts the courage and struggle of a Polish woman to help refugees from Poland find a safe home in India during World War II. The screening is being organized by the Consulate General of Republic of Poland, Mumbai in collaboration with Films Division.
