Standing Eight Count

They were just another ordinary family in Brooklyn,USA-Zainab and Arif and their son Munna,until one day,Zainab,played by Konkona Sen Sharma...

They were just another ordinary family in Brooklyn,USA Zainab and Arif and their son Munna,until one day,Zainab,played by Konkona Sen Sharma,decides to leave her sheltered life to follow a dream. Based on a true story,How Can It Be,by Mira Nair,revolves around gender equality and women empowerment,one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that have been adopted by 191 countries of the United Nations. How Can It Be was screened as part of Eight,a festival featuring eight short films made by international filmmakers on the different MDGs at the Teen Murti Bhavan. The two-day festival is on till today.

The festival aims to motivate people to make a difference. We believe in the power of films and want to merge the fields of social cause,entertainment and creative expression on the same stage, says Nagendra Singh,a member of Filmbooth,the organisers of the festival. The festival is part of Stand Up,Make a Noise,an initiative to raise awareness about MDGs,and is being held in collaboration with United Nations Development Programmes Stand Up Coalition Team.

Singh rattles off some of the other films,and the issues they follow Mansion On the Hills ,which tackles child mortality,The Letter,dealing with education,Wim Wenders Person to Person which revolves around development,and Jan Kounens The Story of Panshin Beka about Maternal Health.

Gaspar Noes Sida enters a hospital in Burkina Faso,where an HIV patient tells the camera,A man is a man and I never took my wife to the sites. I lived alone. Sometimes,I would pick up a girl… thus pointing to one of the ways in which the deadly disease spreads. Among the concluding films in the festival is Jane Campions environment-centric film called The Water Diary. In the film,11-year-old Ziggy writes in her diary about the frequent dreams that people in her town in Australia have about water. In one of the dreams,Felicity,the most beautiful and talented girl in the town,is seen playing viola on top of an empty water tank to try and bring the rain, says Singh.

A series of short films by less-known amateur and professional filmmakers is also part of the festival. Can films change the world? Lets try and see, adds Singh.

The festival is on at Teen Murti Bhavan from 11 am. Contact: filmboothindia@gmail.com

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