Like many other girls from her village Gundri in Sathyamangalam, 14-year-old Sivagami was forced to discontinue her education once she passed out of eighth standard. But, she was lucky that she met M. Natarajan, a volunteer of an NGO Aide et Action, who encouraged her to take part in a novel workshop. Called the Community Video Production Workshop for Women, it trained them in film making.
So Sivagami became part of the team that produced Enakkum Kalvi ( An Education for Me Too ), a short film on educating the girl child. When her parents saw the film, she was allowed to continue with her education. Not just her parents, many others in Gundri are now set to send their children to the village school.
Media power
The three-day workshop organised by Aide et Action and Rosary Studio, Salem, saw Sivagami and 27 other women as well as a few men learn film making. “Mass media is one of the most powerful tools to tell a story today,” says Murali Kasinathan, project manager of the NGO. “Visuals create a huge impact. We wanted to educate villagers around Sathyamangalam about the role of mass media in bringing about social change.” Trainers from Salem and Madurai held intensive 12-hour-long sessions for three days, and the women were taught to handle video cameras, and capture still and moving images.
P. Lakshmi of Alathukombai declares, “I now know how to handle a camera. I know what long and close up shots are. And I also know the various angles from which an image can be taken. My friends and I have understood how our favourite serials are being shot.” C. Srilekha from Sathyamangalam says thanks to the workshop, she now understands the power of films. “We were taught to convey a message through our images. We took photos of garbage spilling over from containers on to roads and of other things that cause damage to our community.” The participants were also taught laws governing information and broadcasting.
S. Joyce, a participant from Periyur, says how in the workshop they were shown three short films that dealt with social issues such as alcoholism. On the third day of the workshop, the participants were divided into three teams. Each team had to come up with a theme and make a short film in a day. Two cameras were lent to them and the three teams had to plan their shooting schedule in such a way that the filming of one movie did not affect another. The participants were the actors.
While Srilekha's group worked on Enakkum Kalvi , P. Thiruman's team took up the issue of disability and addressed it in Enn Kural (My Voice) . Thiruman, from Arigiyam tribal village, plays the role of the physically challenged protagonist in the film. “In my village, people are illiterate. They do not know how to treat a person with special needs. Whereas in cities it is not like that,” he says. “They treat us at par with the others. We decided to talk about this in Enn Kural .” Thiruman hasn't yet screened the film in his village. He says his neighbours and friends will be happy to see their own people acting in a film. “The message will also be conveyed more effectively this way,” he says.
The third film, Thulaindha Sirippu (The Lost Smile) , is about child labour – an issue that the villagers are grappling with even today. “In Arigiyam, children come to the school only to have their free meal,” says Thiruman. “They don't understand the importance of education. It's the parents who are to be blamed for this.” Through Thulaindha Sirippu , Lakshmi hopes these parents understand the need to eradicate child labour. For her film, she roped in children from Alathukombai to play important roles.
What next?
The participants of the workshop are already brimming with ideas for their future films. “I want to make a film about electricity problems,” says Vijaya from Sathumugai. “And I, about caste discrimination in my village,” chips in Joyce. Natarajan wants to talk about school dropouts in his next film, while Thiruman is thinking on the lines of land rights for the tribals. Murali says that Aide et Action plans to start a media resource centre in Sathyamangalam. “We will equip this centre with cameras and other items needed to support this endeavour. We will also hold media training workshops more regularly so that the other villagers can benefit from it.” Joyce has already informed her neighbours about the workshop. “They will surely take part in the next one,” she says. “Why, even I can train people in film making now.”
The movies made during the workshop can be viewed here:
Enn Kural - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFBpn-n06DM&feature=youtu.be
Thulaindha Sirippu - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vI24VuDpx0
Enakkum Kalvi - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6HIE9yOktYs
The organisation
Aide et Action International is an NGO based out of France. It was founded in 1981 by Pierre Bernard Le Bas. He came down to India as a volunteer. The NGO now operates in 26 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Aide et Action International South Asia is working across 19 states and three union territories in India in partnership with NGOs and skill based training centres.
