SamaBhav, meaning equanimity, is a two-day film festival on gender, identity, sexuality, and social change. Screenings of curated short, documentary, and feature films are interspersed with conversations with filmmakers, protagonists, activists, and experts. How often do we get a room where these questions can be asked openly?
Now in its eighth edition, the festival travels to cities and districts across India and beyond, reaching young people and their educators. Curated by Men Against Violence and Abuse (MAVA), the films address gender-based discrimination and violence, patriarchy, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, and the meaning of masculinity. The discussions that follow invite audiences to examine their own biases and prejudices, in a safe space for young men, young women, and non-binary youth to speak about subjects rarely raised in classrooms or at home.
Schedule
Day 1 | Sat, Nov 14 | 11am – 8:30pm
Theme: Gender, Voice and Resistance
11am – 11:30am : Inauguration with Ammu Joseph (Senior Journalist), Meher Suri (Co-Discussant) and Harish Sadani (Festival Director).
11:30am – 12:05pm : A Poem for Bilkis Dadi | 33 mins | Hindi, English, Tamil, Manipuri | India
12:05pm – 12:50pm : Screenings Set 1 – Companionship, Voice and Expression
You Want Company | 19 min | English | India
Auratein (Music Video) | 7 min | Hindi | India
Baithi Hai (Music Video) | 5 min | Hindi | India
12:50pm – 1:20pm : Panel 1 – Whose Voices Are Heard? Gender, Agency and Representation
Unpacking testimony, women’s voices, visibility and the politics of representation with Harish Sadani and Meher Suri.
1:20pm – 2:35pm : Screening Set 1 Continued
The First Film | 24 min | Hindi | India
Naam Kya Hei Tumara | 18 min | Hindi, Marathi | India
2:35pm – 3:20pm : Lunch Break
3:20pm – 4:30pm : Screening Set 2 – The Body, Desire and Gendered Lives
RuBaRu | 30 min | Hindi, Marwari | India
Body Count | 6 min | Hindi | India
Fursat | 7 min | Bengali, English | India
Auto Queens | 30 min | Tamil | India
4:30pm – 5pm : Panel 2 – The Body as Evidence: Desire, Intimacy and Social Control
Exploring the ways bodies, relationships and desires are represented, regulated and made visible or invisible with Meher Suri, Harish Sadani and Sraiyanti (Filmmaker).
5pm – 5:30pm : Tea Break
5:30pm – 7:15pm : Screening Set 2 Continued
Greeshmant | 21 min | English, Hindi | India
Iss Taraf | 10 min | Hindi | India
Queering India | 63 min | English | Australia, India
7:15pm – 7:45pm : Panel 3: Queer Lives and the Right to Belong
Reflecting on identity, freedom, acceptance and belonging with Vinay Chandran (Swabhava Trust).
7:45pm – 8:30pm : Closing Remarks
Day 2 | Sun, Nov 15 | 11am – 8:30pm
Theme: Masculinity, Intimacy, Power and Collective Resistance
11:00am – 12:00pm : Majma | 54 min | Hindi | India
12:00pm – 12:30pm : Panel 1 – Masculinity in Public: Power, Vulnerability and Belonging
Examining masculinity, public space, social power and everyday encounters with Sudeep Pagedar.
12:30pm – 1:15pm : Screening Set 1 – Memory, Childhood and Everyday Life
Finding Nabi | 22 min | English | India
Pehli Tarikh | 23 min | Hindi, English | India
1:15pm – 2:00pm : Lunch Break
2:00pm – 3:45pm : Screening Set 1 Continued
Lonely Shadow | 27 min | Tamil | India
The Day Iceland Stood Still | 20 min | English, Icelandic | Iceland
3:45pm – 4:15pm : Panel 2 – From Personal Experience to Collective Change
Tracing how individual experiences of gender connect with solidarity, resistance and social transformation with Sudeep Pagedar and Hareesh Ram G (Filmmaker).
4:15pm – 5:15pm : Tea Break & Festival Gathering
5:15pm – 8pm : Homebound | 117 min
8pm – 8:15pm : Closing Remarks by Harish Sadani
In collaboration with:
