Friday October 5th, 2007 7:00 PM: Kamli, My Daughter
Bare
Santana Issar, 2006, India, Hindi/English, 11 minutes, DVD In the piecing together of home videos shot by her parents nearly 2 decades earlier, and through a string of conversations with her father, mother, and sister, a daughter looks to understand the impact of her father's alcoholism on each of their lives: the sister's refusal to include him in her life; the mother's belief that her daughters should reach out to their father despite her own refusal to see him; the father's moment of honest introspection.
In talking to them, the questions she is struggling with come to the fore: should she stand behind him, drawing only on her memories of what a wonderful father he was? Or should she move on, and build her life without him?
Kamli, My Daughter
K. N. T. Sastry, 2006, India, Telugu with English subtitles, 72 minutes, 35mm The Lambada community has been part of the landscape of Hyderabad and parts of Andhra Pradesh. Dressed in their colourful attire and chunky jewelery, the Lambada women are often seen toiling as daily wage laborers in construction sites. Their shanties are usually seen close to the areas they work in.
The film 'Kamli' portrays the grim reality of their struggle in life. It tackles the issues of female feticide, infanticide or the sale of the girl child as they are considered an ill omen within the community. It also exposes the issue of swapping of the male child - a practice fairly common in the urban areas - particularly in the hospitals.
Kamli is the focal point of the tale. She is forced to sell her firstborn girl and is now faced with the predicament of her life when her newly born male child is swapped with a baby girl by staff in a government hospital.
More information is available at www.apoorvachitra.com/kamli.html
CEO of CRY India, Ingrid Srinath will be attending the screening. In addition, Hari Prasad, producer of Kamli will be present for the post-film discussion.
* Post film discussion
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