When it comes to creation in women, is it only restricted to childbirth? Can a woman who is an artist, following her heart, writing poetry or painting pictures be considered a creator in the same way? Or can she follow her dreams as well as be a good parent?
These were some of the dilemmas that the protagonist of Tamar Rachkovsky's film Parzuf Rusi (Russian Face) faced when revisiting the idea of home and mother. The film was aired at the International Association of Women in Radio and Television film festival on March 2 in Delhi at the India International Centre.
The protagonist was an immigrant's daughter who grew up in Jerusalem with a Russian mother. The mother was born into a family of a physics professor but chose to become a painter. At one point in the film, the mother makes a poignant point, “Human beings are the books that time chooses to write upon”. Growing up, the protagonist looks for her mother within her paintings....
Among others, there was a touching 30-minute film set in Israel, a 71-minute film from Lebanon that looked at the idea of family name and status for a woman in an underdeveloped country, a nine-minute one from Afghanistan on life after the war, and a two-hour long package called artists' film and video on assorted films from Palestine, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Korea, Japan, Spain and other countries.
The 13th edition of the film festival concludes on March 4 where over 55 films from 17 countries would have been shown, which include documentaries, animations, features and shorts. Velvet Revolution by Nupur Basu that looks at the lives of plucky women reporters across five countries is one of the highlights of the festival.
