Author: N Vinoth Kumar
Published Date: Mar 25, 2013
Channel 4 Production that
received rave reviews and praise for its documentaries on alleged war crimes in
Sri Lanka, has yet another feather in its cap. Its documentary on Tamil poet
Salma has made its way to the ongoing Amnesty International’s film festival
at the Hague, Netherlands.
Poet Salma, whose blog
has the welcoming note that says ‘Her experiences were not hers alone, but that
of each and every woman’, is involved in the advocacy of women’s rights.
A native of
Thuvarankurichi, a small village in Tiruchy district was born as Rajathi alias
Rokkaiya. She did her schooling till the age of 13, after which she
discontinued studies due to societal pressures.
Since then, writing has
been the tool to reflect her feelings. She published her first set of poems
titled Oru Maalaiyum Innoru Maalaiyum,
in the year 2000. The tome was followed by a novel Irandam Jaamangalin Kathai that was published in the year 2004,
which is now considered as the first Tamil novel written by a Muslim woman.
Her writings speak more
about violence against women, body politics and loneliness.
Salma contested in
the Panchayat elections and served as the president from 2001 to
2006. She also served as a Chairperson, Social Welfare Board. After the regime
change, she resigned her post and is now focusing only on writing. She also
runs an NGO ‘Your Hope is Remaining’ that works towards women rights.
Speaking to City
Express, before embarking on her trip to the Netherlands to participate in
the festival, she said, “After knowing about my past and my works, Kim
Longinotto, a British documentary film-maker, extensively known for her films
like Runaway and Pink Saris among others that spoke about women rights,
got in touch with me. After our first meeting, she prepared a proposal and
submitted to ‘Channel 4’ production and they agreed to fund the film. For three
months, she was with me and completed the film. The film is titled Salma.”
The film cannot be seen
as a film about an individual as it speaks about women issues in its entirety.
It has been selected under the category of ‘A Matter of Act’ and for screening
in Amnesty International’s film festival ‘Movies that Matter’.
“The 90-minute film has
been well-received at the Sundance Film Festival held in the US and fetched the
‘audience award’ at the Berlin film festival. Around 70 films will
be screened at the festival till March 27,” Salma added.
The film is expected to
fetch some awards there too. Salma will also participate in discussions with
various other human rights activists and Nobel Peace Prize winners.
Courtesy: The New Indian
Express
No comments:
Post a Comment