Hi friends, The premiere of Filling the Blanks was a grand success with around 200 people in the audience; it was well attended by women workers from all sections of society. The film was screened first and this was followed by a small function in which K.Ajitha handed over the first copy of the documentary to Dr. K. Saradamoni. The others on the dais were Elizabeth (the auto driver), Ms.Thressiama ( Archana Womens Centre, Kottayam), Sreemith ( the film maker), and P.Baburaj (President, Pedestrian Pictures, Kerala). Though there was an overall appreciation for the movie there were some apprehensions about the film not having woven its three chapters into context, especially that of the Muslim women. The discussion centered around caste and gender weighing down even today in a big way on the dalit women in their every day lives and while trying to move into the non 'feminine' labor force. Ms. Thressiama who runs two centers where women are specially trained in these non traditional skills such as carpentry, masonry, auto driving etc had a lot to say as to how the mind set of people is so very hard to change in spite of the fact that the quality is very often better when women do the work.
The audience too vehemently participated in the discussion to such an extent that the film seemed suspended over the issue it brought forth and the film maker was overwhelmed! In his reply to the discussion, Sreemith opined that this was exactly what he expected from his film...to be, though in a small way, instrumental in carrying on the discussion on caste and gender by exposing every day reality for those in the lowest strata of society. Thanks to each one of you for contributing in your own way to making the function a memorable one. Elizabeth Philip (for Filling the Blanks production team) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB.
