The 20th IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival: 6 to 8 March 2025

Programme Details

The 20th edition of the festival brings together a rich collection of fiction, non-fiction, animation and short films from different parts of Asia. Curated by the noted festival director and programmer, Bina Paul, the festival includes masterclasses, seminars and panel discussions; and exhibitions. These include panel discussions on Women and the Arts; Climate Change and Gender Justice; and Archiving. Conversations with Payal Kapadia, Hwang Hei Rim, and Akiko Ashizawa; and a tribute to Manjira Datta and Aruna Vasudev, two stalwarts from the world of films.

Organised in collaboration with International Association of Women in Radio &Television, Chapter India; NFDC Cinemas of India; Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. Of India; Embassy of France; Institute Français, New Delhi; Friedrich Ebert Stiftung; Delhi Tourism; Max Mueller Bhavan-Goethe Institut; Delhi Tourism; Kerala Travels; The Japan Foundation; InKo Centre; Yellow Streets; and Kumbaya

Screenings will be held in the Auditorium on 6, 7 and 8 March 2025 from 09:30 onwards. Some of the filmmakers will be present for post-screening discussions

Highlights of the festival include:
From 6 to 8 March 2025, 11:00 to 19:00 in Gandhi-King Memorial Plaza
Memory as Movement: Archiving Feminist Histories
An exhibition of photographs, songs, letters, artworks, books, notebooks, reports, and newsletters from women’s organisations in Delhi spanning the last 40 years. The exhibition creates a vivid and visceral history of the women’s movement. A testament to the resilience, creativity, and determination of that fueled feminist organisations

On 6 March 2025 from 09:15 to 13:30 hrs in C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium
Memory as Movement: Archiving Feminist Histories
Panel discussion

On 6 March 2025 at 18:00
Opening Ceremony
Followed by screening of the film

The Sharp Edge of Peace (Afghanistan)
(95 min; 2024; Persian with English subtitles)
Director: Roya Sadat

A feature-length documentary that follows the only women on the Afghan government negotiating team as they navigate the hard road to peace and broker a shared political structure with the Taliban.

Followed by
A Conversation
Nupur Basu in conversation with Alka Sadat

On 6 and 7 March in Conference Room II from 10:00 to 17:00
Workshop on The Once and The Future of the Documentary
 

The oversaturated media landscape we inhabit is both a provocation and an invitation to deconstruct ways in which images are produced, circulated and consumed.  How are images produced? How are they circulated? Should they be archived? What and who is the collective if we think about personal and public images produced and archived? 
Filmmakers, archivists and independent groups working with the moving image come together in this workshop. Participants, including independent filmmakers, video and media collectives, present their material and discuss the challenges of putting their work in the public domain.

Registration at the venue on a first come first serve basis.

Speaker: Prof. Krishna Kumar, well-known educationist, Honorary Fellow, Panjab University, Chandigarh

The concept of ‘social change’ has roots in India’s freedom struggle and modernisation theories, with education playing a central role. Traditional inquiry into social change focuses on caste, community, gender, and rural–urban relations, while an educational perspective offers deeper insights based on personal experiences of learning. Prof. Kumar will examine how education shapes individual perceptions of social change, challenging generalised modernisation theories. The lecture will highlight how the state of the education system and personal circumstances influence one’s understanding of societal transformation. By exploring education as both a structural institution and a personal experience, this lecture will provide fresh perspectives on how knowledge and learning shape societal evolution in India.

The 7th Social Change Annual Lecture

(Collaboration: Council for Social Development; and Sage India)

The Zoom Link: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86300571581?pwd=hbMBhHlXaX13PGHUmISx3ODpj0oivf.1

Meeting ID: 863 0057 1581
Passcode: 758957

Himalayan Huffing: Culture, Politics and Climate Change
 

Speakers: Prof. Jagannath Panda, Head, Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs (SCSA-IPA) who will speak on The Climate Challenge in Tibet: Why and How the Himalayan Community Must Act Together; and Prof. Dhananjay Tripathi, Associate Professor, South Asian University, New Delhi who will speak on Border and Culture: The Connection and Contradiction

Discussant: Dr. Rajiv Ranjan, Associate Professor, Dept. of East Asian Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Delhi

Chair: Shri K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC
 

Vocal Recital
By Smt Kalapini Komkali

At 19:30
Flute Recital
By Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia

In memory of Shri Vasant Sathe

(Collaboration: Sarvajanik Utsav Samiti, New Delhi; and Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial National Committee)

An exhibition of paintings by Shefali Upadhyay

Drawing inspiration from diverse plant life – ranging from lush grape leave to delicate lotus flowers, Shefali’s work resonates with the timeless philosophy of finding perfection in imperfection

Preview on Tuesday, 4 March at 18:30 hrs

Hindustani Vocal Recital
By Dhanashri Ghaisas from Mumbai, disciple of Vidushi Dr Ashwini Bhide Deshpande

At 19:00 
Hindustani Music Instrumental
Fusion music presented by Aditya Shanker (tabla); Kartikeya Vashisht (flute); Neeraj Kumar (percussion); and Shailendra Wakhlu (Guitar)
 

Cooling our Environment: An Architects Vision to Combat Global Warming
By Kalpana Sutaria (Atmosphere Press: 2024)

Discussants: Ms Anumitra Roychowdhury, Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment; Shri Ashok B. Lall, architect and former Member, Global Holcim Foundation; and Ms Kalpana Sutaria, activist, architect, and author of the book

Chair: Shri Suhas Borker, Editor, Citizens First TV (CFTC) and Trustee, IIC