Poster courtesy: Pradipto Photography: Kallol Nath
Film-makers shed light on social cause - Cinema lovers turn up in large numbers as city hosts two-day Siddhartha Gautam Film Festival |
| NAMITA PANDA |
Bhubaneswar, Sept. 3: The Siddhartha Gautam Film Festival that deals with several human rights issues began on Friday at Jaydev Bhawan in Bhubaneswar. The two-day festival attracted people from different sections of society, who appreciated the films for their social outlook.
The films screened on the first day focussed on AIDS awareness and spoke about including sexual minorities into mainstream society... ...
... .... In a span of five minutes, Being Positive packs in a great message. It’s about a freelance photographer Akaash, in his 20s. The film is an absolute revelation. It shows a compilation of photographs with an undergoing narration in the background.
The central character Aakash, who keeps converting the negative films to positive for his photography, gets to know that he is HIV positive.
But one day he meets a married woman leading a happy and normal life with her family. She inspires Aakash and his family to continue living happily together ... ...
... ... The screening of films concluded with an interactive session attended by actors and film-makers.
“The response here is fantastic. The viewers were excited to see films end on a positive note. They asked how could it be possible to establish an inclusive society for HIV positive and transgenders,” said Amitabh Sarkar, an actor in film Aarambh and the director of Rupantar to be screened on Saturday.
Films Engayging Lives, The Red Umbrella and XXWHY will also be screened on the second day.
The festival is organised by Sampark, a coalition of 24 different civil society organisations working towards promoting all-round health and reducing poverty amongst sexual minorities and people living with HIV in the state.
It is an initiative of Solidarity and Action Against the HIV Infection in India (Saathii). On Saturday, Saathii will be give the Rainbow Film Awards 2010 to one of the films at the festival.
“Siddhartha Gautam, who passed away at the tender age of 28 in 1992, had fought vigorously for the rights of HIV positive people and transgenders. This annual festival began in Bengal in 2005 in his memory and was held in Bhubaneswar last year,” explained Mitali Mohanty of Saathii.
“The theme for this year is to support legal efforts to protect rights of people with HIV and decriminalise same-sex love and sexual minorities in India,” she added.
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