Aparna proud being a woman filmmaker

Renowned Indian film personality Aparna Sen, in Dhaka to attend the Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF), was talking at Gallery Alliance Française de Dhaka on Sunday afternoon. She was addressing a session of the Fourth Dhaka International Conference on Women in Cinema 2018.

Aparna has to often deal with the typical question on identity as a ‘filmmaker’ versus ‘woman filmmaker’. “I used to feel confused before. I thought I was a filmmaker and felt bad when was called a ‘woman filmmaker’. But I don’t feel that way now. I take pride in this recognition. This is my unique identify.”

The maker of ‘Teen Kanya’ and ‘Paromitar Ek Din’, Aparna said, “More important than the man-woman dichotomy, is the identity of a human being. It is essential not to hurt anyone, to answer to one’s heart.”

Speaking on the comparison between western and eastern women reflected in cinema, cinema expert Sydney Levine of the US, came up with an evaluation on the participation of women in films from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Alin Tasciyan, the chair of the seminar, revealed shocking information on women abuse at the West and the East.

Another session on ‘Iranian actresses in three generations” was also anchored by Sydney Levine and attended by Fatima Simin, Sadia Khaled, and Indian filmmaker Madhurima Sinha.

Fatima Simin said, “Children are given focus in Iranian cinema and in recent times women are portrayed from different angles.”

The seminar was conducted by the young British film producer and coordinator Bernadette Schramm in collaboration with women and gender studies department of Dhaka University.