The exhaustion seemed to evaporate from Golda Sellam’s face as she spoke about ‘female cinema’. She had just reached Thiruvananthapuram, a few days ahead of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), when TNM spoke to her about her experience of curating the huge event. Golda, who took charge at the festival soon after her long journey from France, brightened up. The Female Gaze, the package she is excited about, has eight films made by women directors from different parts of the world and is a first in the IFFK’s 28 editions.
“It is a creative selection, a few of the finest among young female directors making the cut,” Golda said, without naming any of the films. All the eight are new films from 2022 and 2023, from countries like France, Korea, Malaysia, Tunisia, and the UK.
The first of the films to be screened was Four Daughters from Tunisia, a documentary that narrated the story of a working class woman and her four girls. “If you ask me, Four Daughters would be the best film in this festival but I watched people walk out right in the middle. And I realised I am not watching the movie [the way] some of my friends who have never lived with the same kind of patriarchal restrictions as me did,” said Archana Ravi, an illustrator who was attending IFFK.
All the movies in the category are not necessarily about female gaze, but they are appreciated works made by women from different cultures. Filmmaker Shruthi Sharanyam, whose film B 32 Muthal 44 Vare is part of the festival but not in this category, said that while it is a nice gesture, it should not limit films by women to gender-related categories. “It should not, for instance, automatically put any film made by women into a single category, reducing the possibilities for it to be recognised among other sections like international competition. That is a risk in introducing such exclusive sections for women. But I understand that such a category will help in including more films of women, and that is a positive move,” she said.
Shruthi’s film in the Malayalam Cinema Today category is one of the productions taken up by the Kerala government’s Film Development Corporation (KSFDC) last year. The project, which funds two women filmmakers selected from many applications every year, has been going on for a few years now. The Kerala Chalachitra Academy, which conducts IFFK, has decided on having a category for female directors, as a continuation of the initiatives to promote more women to come into the field, said Academy secretary C Ajoy.
“The KSFDC and the Chalachitra Academy have been doing female-oriented projects for a while now. The KSFDC introduced its project for funding women filmmakers a few years ago. The Academy announced a programme for training women on the technical aspects of filmmaking and finding them placement. In line with this, we decided to introduce a category for including the works of women filmmakers that have been getting recognition from across the world,” Ajoy said.
Among the films is also an English one made by a non-resident Malayali, Footprints on Water, about the life of undocumented immigrants in the UK. “I think the [female gaze] category is very interesting, people know that these stories are told from a female perspective. In light of identities, I am also a big fan of identity gaze. Because we are immigrants, we know the immigrant side of the story. That’s what made me want to show this story to the world,” said Nathalia Syam, the director of the film.
Among other films in the category are: Houria, on how a young dancer in Algeria bounces back after an attack on her; Banel & Adama, a love story going against the norms in northern Senegal – a film that acclaimed Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu lavished praise on; Tiger Stripes from Malaysia about the mysteries surrounding a 12-year-old girl, which was screened as one of the two horror films for midnight screening at IFFK; The Braid that brings together three women from different parts of the world; and two South Korean films Next Sohee, about what the investigation into the murder of a high school student reveals, and A Letter from Kyoto, about a daughter discovering an old letter that brings out untold stories about her mother.
At an open forum during the festival on female gaze and body politics in cinema, there was a discussion around how such films would not only bring representation but add perspectives that have not been seen before. “I attended the discussion and I agree that unless women come in predominantly male-dominated roles such as of a director, writer, and cinematographer, the perspective will not differ. In films made by male directors, there may still be women in the crew whose inputs are used. But it would not be the same as having a woman as a director or a cinematographer,” said Aishwarya Sunil, an engineering student and delegate.
However, Shruthi, who was incidentally one of the speakers at the open forum, spoke about finding a Malayalam film made by a 25-year-old male director (Fazil Razak) that beautifully portrays the female gaze. “I am talking about Thadavu (which was one of the two Malayalam films in the competition category this year). Not that it counters the argument that more representation of women is needed in the industry,” she added.
Women getting a space of their own is always a welcome gesture, agreed writer and film critic Shahina K Rafeeq. She too had caught only Four Daughters, which appears to be a favourite of many at IFFK. “The documentary by Kaouther Ben Hania was totally a different take and I loved the way the director dealt with it,” Shahina said.
Another delegate, Pournami EM who has completed her Masters in Women’s Studies, also liked Four Daughters, the film’s politics and how it is conveyed.
Archana Ravi explained how people without a relatable experience may not enjoy it.
“At one point Olfa, the mother in that film, was like, they (the daughters) belong to just one person. So I nodded, thinking “yes absolutely, only belong to me.” Then she completed her sentence with “their husbands”. And I was surprised that I didn't think of it before she said it. Probably because I have started to finally unlearn the patriarchal conditioning I grew up with. So I engaged with the film as if it was too personal. But others without that experience left,” Archana said.
She added how when people who have not had a particularly oppressive experience make movies about the experience might assume the role of a saviour. “Men making women-centric movies glorify protagonists. But Olfa has a lot of greys, and the filmmaker is careful not to turn her into a wholly white perfect mother. This too, though one can argue is because of the craft, could also be because the filmmaker’s gaze is that of a woman, or a person who has had a taste of patriarchy.”
Read: These two films at IFFK assert women’s agency in pregnancy