‘Call us filmmakers, not women filmmakers’

Filmmakers, actors and technicians, speaking at the 13th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes) on Tuesday, slammed the gendering of their talent and success.

Assamese actor and director Aimee Baruah was the first to express her discontent.

“Whether it is TV or film festivals, they categorise us as women filmmakers. I am against it. Filmmakers are just filmmakers,” she said.

Cinematographer Preetha Jayaraman shared a funny example of the sexism she faces on the film sets or studios, “To date, I am called cameraman madam”.

They were speaking at a panel discussion on ‘Women in Cinema’ alongside seasoned sound designer and mixing engineer Geeta Gurappa, senior Kannada actor-producer Suman Nagarkar, ace Bengali actor Rituparna Sengupta, costume designer and director Roshni Dinaker and editor Preethi Mohan.

The panellists recalled how they broke into the male-dominated industry in different decades --- a journey marked by a chance discovery, convincing families to let them stay out late for work, clinching the right opportunities, and working doubly harder to be taken seriously.

Rituparna said with a laugh that “frowns and questions” about her work haven’t died down even after so many years of marriage.

Geeta felt more women are now working as directors, producers, and technicians but that doesn’t necessarily mean “the mindset” inside and outside the industry has broadened. “We, women, have adapted (to work around such a mindset). We can do it, we have taken that stand”.

“(Even today), we are fighting for equal pay,” Preetha said in response to a question on pay disparity.

The lack of ID cards for female makeup artistes was also discussed.

“Women are human beings, not items,” Suman lashed out at the term ‘item songs’ used for dance routines featuring female stars. She also shared an anecdote when a male DOP said he would not work with a female colleague in the team.

Sexism aside, women can be their own enemies, said the panellists.

Some suffer from a lack of self-belief while some pull down each other, which hurts the cause of their greater participation in films, they said.

“We don’t see women networking during film festivals (as much as men do). We are stronger together,” Geeta said.

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