Film is a growing and vibrant means of communication. All over the Commonwealth’s 53 countries people are watching and making films. There are notable success stories such “Bollywood” (Mumbai, India) which is now producing the most films in the world. More recently Nigeria has seen the rapid development of its video industry, meeting demand at home and increasingly for international and diaspora markets.
But who’s in the director’s chair?
Since the early days of cinema, film making and distribution has been dominated by a handful of countries. People in developing countries have struggled to see their own stories on the cinema screen, and to take those stories to a wider world. People in developed countries have been denied knowledge of other cultures. Women especially, are still an excluded voice: only 6% of film directors and 12% of screenwriters are women.
But there are signs that the tide is turning, not least with technological changes reducing costs and offering alternative platforms for distribution. A growing variety of international film festivals are widening the distribution possibilities.
Birds Eye View is the first major women’s film festival in the UK. The 2009 event ran for nine days in March, with 70 events in London and cinemas across the country. It reached an audience of 11,000. The Commonwealth Foundation supported women film makers from developing countries to attend. It also supported a screening of three films:
- “Goddesses” directed by Leena Manimekalai, India, 2007;
- “Ras Star” directed by Wunuri Kahiu, Kenya/South Africa, 2006;
- “The Vegetarian Super Machine” directed by Camille Selvon Abrahams, Trinidad and Tobago, 2007.
Hits and Misses
According to critic Tamsyn Dent, Leena Manimakalai’s award-winning documentary “Goddesses” gives an entirely different perspective of Indian women then the traditional one we are used to seeing.
“This documentary looks at the lives of three women; Lakshmi, a professional funeral singer and canny businesswoman; Krishnaveni, a grave digger who is given the abysmal task of taking unclaimed bodies in whatever state and burying them with her own bare hands; and sea-going fisherwoman, Sethuraku, who was given a man’s profession by her uncle in order to survive and support her family. These women are incredible: hilarious, cunning and strong. They each display power in their own selfawareness
and assertiveness.”
More information, including short videos on Birds Eye View Festivals (2008 and 2009) can be accessed from www.birds-eye-view.co.uk.