Films of women directors shine at international film festivals
Films by women directors won the audience at international film festivals. Spirit of Cinema awardee Vanuri Kahiu, Malayalam directors Srutisaranyam, Natalia Shyam, Shalini Ushadevi, Maunia Medaur and Korean director Julie Jung are among the films of 41 directors in the fair. There is a huge crowd in the venues where the screenings of films by women directors are in progress. The audience takes in the women’s bemused views, perspectives and assessments of the world with rapturous applause.
Wanuri’s film Rafiki, which fights against conservative thinking in Kenya, has been well received. Kahiu’s films From a Whisper and Pumsi are also being screened at the fair. The survival of a young woman who is forced to marry an old man is the theme of the Oscar-winning animated film The Peasants. The Polish film by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman also got a good response at the festival.
Nathalia Shyam’s film Footprints on Water, which discusses the plight of migrants to the UK, is already fond of the audience. Films such as Four Daughters by Tunisian director Kawother Ben Hania, A Letter from Kyoto by Minju Kim, The Braid by Laietetia Kolobani, Next Sohee by Julie Jung, Banel & Atama by Ramata Toulaye and Houria by Mounia Medour were also well received.
Diva Shah’s Bahadur The Brave, which discusses the socio-economic conditions between neighboring countries and the exploitation of the labor sector, is screened in the Kaleidoscope section. Shruti Saranyam’s B 32 to 44 and Shalini Ushadevi’s Ennennu, which tells the story of three women, are also popular films. The festival also screened the Malaysian horror film Tiger Stripes directed by Mexican director Lilla Aviles and Brazilian director Lilla Halla debutant Amanda Nelu.
