ASSOCIATION FOR INDIA'S DEVELOPMENT (Berkeley chapter)
presents
FILM FESTIVAL: HUMAN RIGHTS IN SOUTH ASIA
http://berkeley.aidindia.org/node/13
FILM FESTIVAL WEEKEND
Saturday, September 6th, 4 - 6 pm and
Sunday, September 7th, 11am - 2 pm
AT: 110 SOUTH HALL, UC BERKELEY
Directions on campus: http://berkeley.edu/map/maps/BC34.html
Panel discussion and pizza!
All films are subtitled in English
Admission is free to all
Even as India celebrates 61 years of freedom from colonial rule, we must remember that the battle for freedom did not end in 1947. Many communities in India, and in the other South Asian countries, continue to struggle for political and economic equality. The films being screened this weekend depict peoples' struggle against forces of economic imperialism, corporate globalization and the state's imposition of neo-liberal models of economic development.
FEATURED FILMS
Saturday, September 6th, 4-6 pm
- Tales from the Margins by Kavita Joshi [2006, 23 minutes]
Documents human rights abuses in the state of Manipur, India and argues that the use of security personnel to quell public dissent is a violation of democratic norms. - New State, Old Problems by The Campaign to Release Binayak Sen and Ajay T. G.[10 min, 2008]
Fifteen months ago, Dr. Binayak Sen, pediatrician, public health specialist and national Vice President of the People's Union for Civil Liberties(PUCL), was arrested on patently false charges of sedition, and charged under the repressive "Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act." Concerned people from around the globe protested this arrest, including Ajay TG, a filmmaker and a colleague from PUCL, who made a movie documenting Dr. Sen's lifelong commitment to issues of community health and human rights. Ironically, almost a year after Dr. Sen's arrest, Ajay T.G. was also arrested under the same repressive laws. Dr. Sen and Ajay, both earned the ire of the government for opposing Salwa Judum. This film provides viewers with some background to the arrests of Dr. Sen and Ajay T.G., including brief introductions to the State of Chhattisgarh, the Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha, the Naxalites and Salwa Judum. - Anjam (The Consequence) by Ajay T. G.[20 min, 2008]
A film on the life and work of Dr. Binayak Sen. Traces the evolution of Dr. Sen's life as an activist from his college days, to his involvement in the miners' struggles in the Dalli Rajhara mines, and setting up the Shaheed Hospital, and finally to a human rights activist as he recognized the inalienable bond between human rights and health rights. - The Other Side of the Boom by Special Broadcasting Services, Australia Reporter: Jonathon Matthews. [22 min, 2008]
The rural poor in central India feel left out of the financial windfall from India's economic success, and are increasingly turning their support to the anti-government Maoist rebels known as "Naxalites". Video journalist Jonathon Matthews seeks out the rebels – and the government-backed vigilante group, Salwa Judum, that opposes them –to ask whether the terrible cycle of violence that's affecting two thirds of the Indian continent can possibly end. The ongoing violence has pitted neighbor against neighbor, converted the area into a civil war zone, with hundreds of villages burnt, scores of people murdered, entire communities displaced and at least 50,000 people forced into squalid government camps.
Sunday, September 7th, 11 am - 2 pm
- Development Flows From the Barrel of a Gun by Biju Toppo and Meghnath [2003, 55 minutes]
Questions state-sponsored development that doesn't take into account people's actual needs. - Resilient Rhythms by Gopal Menon [2002, 65 Minutes]
An unflinching look at the reality of issue of caste–based discrimination in contemporary India, and the role of the state in perpetuating such discrimination. - It's A Boy! by Vani Subramanian [2008, 29 minutes]
Explores the imbalance in sex ratios in Indian society caused by female foeticide and infanticide, and the state's promotion of gender selection technologies as a tool of population control. It presents various perspectives including that of feminist activists, religious leaders, elected officials, etc. Finally, the film offers a portrait of the pressures of patriarchy by interviewing members of a matrilineal community in North-Eastern India, some members of which have begun to demand adherence to norms of patriarchy.
For detailed synopsis of films, visit http://berkeley.aidindia.org/
Organized by: ASSOCIATION FOR INDIA'S DEVELOPMENT (Berkeley and Bay area chapters) & FRIENDS OF SOUTH ASIA
