Breaking the glass ceiling is a tough call in any sphere of activity. When it comes to cinema, it is tougher than anywhere else. “People are harsh when judging you because you are a woman and will show reluctance to acknowledge you as a filmmaker. You must have a huge reservoir of patience and will power to stay afloat and prove yourself,” says Urmi Juvekar, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker, summing up the huge challenge before women film professionals.
Ms. Juvekar was speaking at a workshop for women filmmakers organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy here on Tuesday as part of the ongoing 22nd International Film Festival of Kerala. “Only thorough knowledge of the medium can make us feel empowered. You have to be really passionate about filmmaking. And ready for hard work to accomplish anything here,” said Ms. Juvekar, who led a class on ‘Scripting, Packaging and Pitching’ at the workshop. “You take money and you are supposed to pay back. You should make films keeping this in mind,” she added.
Earlier, inaugurating the workshop, organised in association with Basil Content Media and the Kerala Women’s Commission, filmmaker Aruna Raje Patil said, “There is a kind of intolerance at play in our society. Nobody wants to listen to things that others have to say. It is good that women in cinema are speaking up now. In our time, it was not possible for women to stand up and speak their mind.”
Judy Gladstone, Executive Director, Documentary Organisation of Canada (DOC), and Apoorva Aggarwal, Business Head, Wishberry, India’s largest crowd-funding platform for creative projects, led a session on ‘Funds for Scripting’. The first day of the two-day workshop concluded with a session on ‘Funding Initiatives and the Digital Space’, led by Sanjay Ram, co-founder, Basil Content, and an Open Forum. Uma Da Cunha released Aruna Raje’s book Freedom My Story. by presenting a copy to Academy chairman Kamal at the workshop. The two-day workshop will conclude on Wednesday.
Swathi Ajith
