[Reader-list] Films of Desire: Sexuality and the Cinematic Imagination

[Shilpa Phadke]

Films of Desire: Sexuality and the Cinematic Imagination

Neemrana Fort Palace, Rajasthan, India

March 7 - 10, 2007

Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA)


The Event



        Films of Desire: Sexuality and the Cinematic Imagination is a four
day event that aims to explore the ways in which visual representations in
features, short films, documentaries, animation, music videos, and
experimental films engage with ideas of sexuality in South and Southeast
Asia. This event will address the different ways in which desires get
articulated; normative and non-normative sexualities get represented; and
how the filmmakers' intentions may be displaced by multiple readings by the
audience.



The program will feature screenings and panel discussions combining the
aesthetic pleasures of watching films and the intellectual stimulation of
discussions in a seminar format. Works, ideas and cinema from around the
world will be discussed with a special focus on South and Southeast Asia.

The Aim


The event aims to foster a more complex understanding of issues of
representation, sexuality, gender and rights; to strengthen advocacy
strategies that might include visual representations; and to expand the
resource pool of people in South and Southeast Asia who work on issues of
sexuality, rights and representation.



Criteria for Participation



We welcome applications from individuals interested in sexuality and
representation. Preference will be given to individuals who are at an early
stage of their career who currently live and work in the South and Southeast
Asian region, and who have demonstrated a sustained interest in these
issues. They must be fluent in English.



Short Film Submissions



        If you are a filmmaker and have made a film on sexuality, you are
welcome to submit it in DVD format. Ten short films of not more than twenty
minutes each will be selected to be shown at the event. If your film is
selected we will offer you a scholarship to participate.

Scholarships

        A limited number of full and partial scholarships are available for
participants from South and Southeast Asia. These will be provided for
travel and accommodation by the South and Southeast Asia Resource Centre on
Sexuality, which is hosted by Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Health
Issues (TARSHI). www.asiasrc.org

 Registration Fee



To meet a small proportion of the costs, all selected participants from
South and Southeast Asia are expected to contribute a registration fee of
Rs.4500 or $100 (individuals) and Rs.6500 or $150 (institutions). Others
will contribute a registration fee of $250.



Website



Films of Desire will host a permanent website ( www.filmsofdesire.org -
under construction) and blog with information about the event, the panel
discussions and films. This will be developed and maintained by the
Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support
Programme. www.apcwomen.org



Venue



        Films of Desire will be held from March 7 to 10, 2007 at the
Neemrana Fort Palace in Rajasthan, India, which is a two hour drive from New
Delhi. The Fort is an aesthetic location that includes an open-air
amphitheatre. The Neemrana Group of Hotels has offered us rooms at
discounted rates for this event. However, please be aware as a converted
15th century fort, it has steep staircases, complicated floor plans, and dim
lighting.  www.neemranahotels.com



The Organizer



        CREA, founded in 2000, is a not for profit organization that aims at
empowering women to articulate, demand and access their human rights by
enhancing women's leadership and building networks at the local, regional
and international levels through training, advocacy and research.   CREA's
efforts are dedicated to creating networks for social change, strengthening
civil society organizations, building leadership capacities of a new
generation of activists and empowering individuals to fight for their
rights. CREA's work focuses on issues of sexuality, sexual and reproductive
rights, violence against women, human rights and social justice.
www.creaworld.org