2-day Kohima film fest wraps up with focus on women journalists

Dimapur: With the screening of 14 internationally acclaimed movies and documentaries, curtains came down on the two-day International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) Travelling Film Festival at the Centre of Excellence for Music and Arts in Kohima on Saturday evening. Insightful panel discussions with the award winning documentary directors and producers Aparna Sanyal and Deepika Sharma were held during the festival.One of the highlights of the festival was the screening of the film Velvet Revolution. The film is a unique collaborative venture supported by IAWRT where the executive producer, Nupur Basu, worked with women directors from four countries who produced films in five countries — Illang Illang Quijano from Philippines, Deepika Sharma from India, Pochi Tamba Nsoh and Sidonie Pongmoni from Cameroon and Eva Brownstein from the US. Velvet Revolution is an exciting collaborative film where six women directors take their lens up close to women making news. This documentary film brings you the testimonies of women journalists from Bangladesh, Cameroon, India, Philippines, Afghanistan, Syria, United Kingdom and Ajerbaijan on how they spoke truth to power.Speaking at the valedictory event of the festival, Sanyal, the managing trustee of IAWRT India, expressed her happiness and fulfillment for finally bringing the IAWRT Travelling Film Festival to Nagaland, which had been in the planning stage for nearly five years. She thanked the Film Association of Nagaland and the partner organisers for hosting the event and making their dream a reality. She said it was such an inspiration to meet so many women film-makers from the state and wished that they would all be a part of IAWRT India chapter.The IAWRT was founded in 2005 under the leadership of Jai Chandiram, and the India chapter of IAWRT works to build and nurture a professional network of women professionals and academics in the media.