Films beyond stereotypes

This year, Oxfam India is challenging filmmakers, producers and artists to create cinema that breaks the stereotypical portrayal of male and female characters in films. The theme for this year’s award is “Cinema Beyond Stereotypes”.

The films in the reckoning for this year’s Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award are powerful dramas, in various Indian languages, that make compelling social commentary on the times we live in.

In 2017, Rima Das' Assamese film ‘Village Rockstars’ won the Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award at MAMI and later bagged the National Award and is now India's official entry to the Oscars. Director Rima Das will be one of the jury members for this year’s award along with National Award, winning actor Parvathy and CEO of the Doha Film Institute Fatima Al Remaihi.

From Marathi film 'Imago' that tells the story of a shy, teenage girl battling leucoderma and the social stigma around it; to 'Hamid' that explores the two sides of the Kashmir conflict through the eyes of an 8-year-old boy; to Kannada film 'Balekempa' that revolves around a couple unable to conceive a child; and Bengali film 'Jonaki' that explores an 80-year-old woman's search for love are on the list.

Making the decision even tougher for the jury are five other strong films ‘Soni’ a Hindi film directed by Ivan Ayr; ‘Jaoon Kahan Bata Ae Dil’ directed by AadishKeluskar; ‘Light In The Room’ (‘OttamuriVelicham’) directed by Rahul Riji Nair; Kannada film ‘Nathicharami’ directed by Mansore and ‘Sivaranjani And Two Other Women’, a Tamil film directed by Vasanth S Sai.

The winner of the Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award 2018 at MAMI for this year will be announced on November 1st, 2018 - on the closing night of the festival.