Nine movies get shortlisted for Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award

NIne films have been nominated for Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award 2018 at Jio MAMI 20th Mumbai Film Festival with Star.
These films are a mix of varied Indian languages, powerful and bold themes and also deal with social issues that are sure to pinch contemporary viewers and force them to think about social stigma that exists in our stereotype society.
This year, filmmakers, producers, and artists are challenged by Oxfam to scratch their heads and ponder over notions that are presented in their pieces of craftsmanship in such a way that6 it breaks the monotony of portrayal of female and male characters in the movies. "Cinema Beyond Stereotypes'' is the theme for the award.

In 2017, Rima Das' Assamese film 'Village Rockstars' won the Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award at MAMI and later bagged the National Award and is now India's official entry to the Oscars.
The jury would include a trio- director Rima Das,National Award winning actor Parvathy and CEO of the Doha Film Institute Fatima Al Remaihi.
The list includes films that touch almost all the social taboos that exist in our society i.e, from 'Imago', a Marathi film that revolves around an introvert teenage girl who falls the victim of leukoderma and the crises that she has to bear, 'Hamid' that portrays two sides of the Kashmir issue from the point of view of an 8 year old child and also a Kannada movie- 'Belakempa' that brings hoem a story about a young couple and childless parents .

Moreover, the list also includes 'Jonaki' that paints a picture of an 80 year old lady, still in search of love .

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Well on the part bof the jury, making judgements has got a little tougher as the list also includes ‘Soni’ a Hindi film directed by Ivan Ayr; ‘Jaoon Kahan Bata Ae Dil’ directed by Aadish Keluskar; ‘Light In The Room’ (‘Ottamuri Velicham’) directed by Rahul Riji Nair; Kannada film ‘Nathicharami’ directed by Mansore and ‘Sivaranjani And Two Other Women’, a Tamil film directed by Vasanth S Sai.
Amitabh Behar, CEO of Oxfam India said:
“We are thrilled that this year the number of shortlisted films have increased from four films last year to nine. This is a reflection of the changing times then cinema industry worldwide. Stories that uphold a mirror to socio-political realities in India and that defy stereotypes of caste, class and gender are being made, accepted and appreciated. Women in films are making space to be heard both on and off-screen. The award is to appreciate, celebrate and support stories and people in the industry challenging the status quo. The shortlisted films are in different Indian languages--- Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Bengali and each film has an arresting narrative. It gives us great joy that last year's winner 'Village Rockstars' is this year India’s entry for the Oscars."

Fate of the winners and the artists will be decided by Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award 2018 at MAMI on November 1st, 2018, which also happens to be the night of closing ceremony of the festival.
Synopsis of the films have been deliberately given as under:
Imago, a Marathi film , directed by Karan Chavan and Vikram Patil portrays the story of Namrata , and introvert teenage girl residing in a small village who falls the victim of leucoderma or vitiligo, a skin disease. Weird, concerning, penetrating ‘normal’ eyesight has made her feel remoarseful and embarrassed for her own identity and and looks until a young and vibrant teacher joins her school.
'Hamid' is another film that is directed by Ajiaz Khan and is in Hindi. The story centers around an eight year old kid called Hamid who somehow comes to know that 786 is Almighty's contact number and thus tries to ring him frequently. He wishes to talk to his father who has gone to Allah , as told by his mother. Eventually, the call gets answered and years other f strife of two iundividuals come to an end.
'Balekempa' , another KLannada movie under the direction of Ere Gowda portrays the story of a couple - a bangle seller and his wife who cannot conceive a child. Thus, in a male dominbating society concealed desires and relationaships find a way to exist in harmony, that also lead the s audience to raise their eyebrows in suspense weather husband's secret would spill out.
'Soni' and 'Jaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil' are two other remarkable story lines that have been directed by Ivan Ayr and Aadish Keluskar respectively. 'Soni' revoleves around a girl from Delhi, a policewoman and her superintendent, and is tested to its limits when they suffer a major setback in their fight to curb the most serious social crisis of a generation.
While 'Jaaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil' rests on relatioshships , their growth and detrioration, romance and reality go hand in hand.
'Light in the Rom' and 'Nathicharami' are other films that have been nominated by Oxfam. The former has been directed by Rahul Riji Nair and is a Malyalam movie. The movie features the s social stigma that a married woman has to bear when her husband tried to exert himself on his wife physuically in a single room.
'Nathicharami' whose director is Mansore brings into limelight topics such as sex and cravings. The story is spun around a female protagonist who gets trapped in such a circumstance.
'Sivaranjani And Two Other Women' , a film of Vasanth S Sai, of Tamil tongue, is amovie that brings home the notions of micro-awakenings of identity, space and self-worth when family dynamics, early marriage and pregnancy threaten to usurp the individuality of three different women. The story happens across three different time-periods. The film is a tribute to their inner strength and courage against casual sexism and patriarchy.
Aditya Vikram SENgupta's 'Jonaki' is another Bengali film that centers around an 80 year old woman , called 'Jonaki' who is still on a hunt for love in a world of faint memmories, where she has her lover whose hair have turned old and grey; returning to a world she is leaving behind. returning to a world she is leaving behind.