15th IAWRT Asian Women's Film Festival to showcase films from 20 countries

The IAWRT Asian Women's Film Festival will see more than 50 films from around the world being screened at the 15th edition of the movie gala. The three-day festival, which opens Tuesday, will showcase films from 20 countries directed by Asian women filmmakers from Armenia, Bangladesh, Estonia, India, Iran, Sri Lanka, Syria and Turkey, among others.

The festival, organised by International Association of Women in Radio and Television, received over 700 entries from 37 countries, the highest till date. Films by Bina Paul, Samina Mishra, Iffat Fatima, Jerro Mulla, Anandana Kapur, Supriya Suri will be screened. One of the festival highlights is a special country focus on Georgia.

Nupur Basu, Managing Trustee, IAWRT Chapter India, said the theme of the movie gala is 'Female Gaze' at a time when women in cinema are central to world discourse. "Discussions about women's participation in cinema and the #MeToo campaign in the film industry from Hollywood to the 900-film-a year Indian film industry - has put women in cinema at the heart of several critical discussions," Basu said in a statement.

Gauri D Chakraborty, the festival director, added, "The AWFF showcases extraordinary narratives from Asian women from around the world... Curating the festival was a personal journey of rediscovering the essence of cinema." Besides the film screenings, the festival programme includes a two-day workshop with school girls, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. An art installation titled 'Bioscopewalli', mounted by design students and artistes, and conceived by Chakraborty, will be on display. IAWRT Asian Women's Film Festival is being at the India International Centre (IIC) here.

(With inputs from agencies.)