IDSFFK puts spotlight on FTII women alumni

Thiruvananthapuram: When Parvati Menon joined the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) as its first female student in the 60s, people were surprised to see a woman wearing a sari trying to learn filmmaking. However, she went against such traditional notions and became a pioneer in meaningful youth-focused cinema.Several such inspiring coming-of-age stories are showcased in A Room of Our Own, a digital memory project on women of FTII in Indian cinema that was screened at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) on Sunday. The project features 13 short films that capture the lives of women students at FTII, offering viewers an insight into campus life, friendships, love, healing, self-discovery and the creative and philosophical maturation of students from diverse backgrounds during their time at the institute. One of the films is An Ode to Saree, by Menon herself. She noted that although the institute welcomed her, many questioned, "Will you direct in a sari? They associated it with women who made rotis and did housework. Menon responded by wearing a sari almost every day at the institute, stating, "I became a sari-clad director. Sari is a whole custom woven into it." A Room of Our Own project, initiated in 2019, was developed through the collaboration of nearly 50 women alumni. Before the screening, director Surabhi Sharma introduced the project, stating, "Each person dipped into their own personal archives to create the films. We were not planning it as a package of short films. This was the second time we have screened the entire collection." In their curators' note, Sharma, Bina Paul and Reena Mohan said, "This project uses personal memory to question the conventional histories of cinema. Through oral histories, photographs from private collections, and the 13 short videos reflecting our time as students, we foreground a shared, gendered experience - one that highlights and celebrates the contributions of women in cinema, particularly those from FTII." Prachee Bajania, whose short film S7 Girls Hostel (Red Door on the Right) is part of the collection, told viewers, "My film is from my experience. In fact, all the films felt like my experiences too. I realised today that I am the last student in the project, but many women have come after me, and there are way more women students in each batch. So, they can carry this forward." The project aims to continue adding 20-25 women's stories at regular intervals. Established in 1960, FTII has produced more than 6,000 graduates, including 600 women.

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