28 February,2014 11:16 AM IST | | Kartiki Nitin Lawate
At the city film festival, titled The Way We Live, you can check out short films from all over the world on the differently abled
Gear up for a mobile short film festival, The Way We Live, featuring films from around the globe. It is curated by actor Mohan Agashe, who is also the ex-director of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and Munich-based Gregor Kern, ex-director of the International Short Film Festival. The festival includes short films from India and around the world, which will bring into focus the lives and abilities of disabled people.
A still from a movie that will be screened
It is being organised by the Goethe-Institut, Indian Medical Association, FTII and Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, among others.
Apart from Pune, the festival will travel through Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Trivandrum and Bengaluru. The festival aims to spread awareness and empathy towards the differently abled and change mindsets.
A still from the film Crossing My Lips
Both the curators will present the films and participate in post-screening discussions and interactions.
Speaking about the event, Kern says, "There is nothing worse than bad films for a good cause. The good cause we are referring to is to put an end to prejudices against people with disabilities and their marginalisation. More than 20 short films from all over the world offer a fresh take on people with disabilities. The films are a record of the ways in which they see and experience life. They challenge the concept of people with disabilities as being pitiable victims or superheroes and heroines who overcome their presumed misfortune."
A still from the film Brother Image
He adds that people with disabilities share the same goals and dreams in life as others.
States Agashe, "Films are a complex entity representing simultaneously an art form, a powerful entertainment tool and a social phenomenon. They entertain us, inspire us and even teach us indirectly about social issues and conditions. The major source of information on disability in India has been films. India produces the largest number of films. For a healthy mind we need nutritious entertainment."
A still from Body and Soul
Entry is on a first-come-first-serve basis.
