The fourth week of SASOD’s film festival Painting the Spectrum 2012 screens films from India, Thailand and Ireland.
According to a press release, tomorrow the offering is from India and it’s the anthology of I Am films.
Director Onir of My Brother Nikhil fame presents four short films based on real life stories which look at some controversial issues.
I Am Afia is the story of a single woman who feels her identity will be made whole through the singular feminine experience of motherhood.
I Am Megha is a story of two friends – a Kashmiri Pandit woman and a Muslim woman – separated by conflict.
I Am Abhimanyu is the story of a broken man, Abhimanyu, who is trapped by the demons of his past of sexual abuse. To move forward he must first go back, into a world where his childhood was stolen from him.
I Am Omar is a horrific tale of sexual discrimination, blackmail and prejudice. It reveals how the police used Article 377 (law under Indian Penal code which criminalizes homosexuality) to harass and blackmail gay men. The cast includes Juhi Chawla, Manisha Koraila, Rahul Bose, Nandita Das, Arjun Mathur and Abhimanyu Singh. The film received the Best Hindi Film at India’s 59th National Film Awards ceremony.
On Monday, the festival moves to Thailand with the film Beautiful Boxer. This film is based on the real life story of Parinya Charoenphol, a Muaythai boxer who underwent a sex change operation to become a woman. It chronicles her life from a young boy who liked to wear lipstick and wear flowers to her sensational career as kick boxer whose specialty is ancient Muaythai boxing moves, and finally her confrontation with her own sexuality which led to her sex change operation.
Tuesday’s film is Albert Nobbs, set in Ireland. Albert Nobbs (played by Glenn Close) is a woman living as a man in order to find work in the harsh environment of late 19th-century working class Ireland where women aren’t encouraged to be independent. After living as a male for 30 years, Albert’s steadfast life is shaken by the sudden arrival of Hubert Page, a house painter.
All films are intended for mature audiences. The screenings start at 7 pm, and admission is free.
