WCC’s tribute to PK Rosy

Actor and activist Sajitha Madathil, who is also an active member of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), has announced that the collective is all set to pay tribute to the first female actor of Malayalam cinema, P.K. Rosy by starting a society in her name. Sajitha made the announcement through her official Facebook page. She wrote, “Women in Cinema Collective is launching a film society in the name of the very first woman actor of Malayalam cinema, P.K. Rosy. P.K. Rosy belonged to the Dalit community and was persecuted and was forced to leave this region itself, just because she acted in the silent film Vigathakumaran, the very first Malayalam feature film, produced in 1928. This act of naming our film society P. K. Rosy Film Society is a humble attempt to be sensitive and to take note of all those who have been excluded from dominant cinema histories through their gender, caste, religious or class locations and our own imagination, and have been brought to light by many scholars, historians and activists.

Our logo again invokes P.K. Rosy visually and has been designed by Mumbai based designer, Zoya Riyas. P.K.Rosy Film society is an endeavour from our side for establishing a viewing space for cinema, which has most often been an all male space. Headed and run by an all ciswomen/transwomen panel, we aim at showcasing, discussing and celebrating women filmmakers, women film professionals and feminist cinema aesthetics. We hope that the film society will also serve as a democratic platform that will enable discussions on cinema and hopefully contribute to a discourse on contemporary cinema aesthetics. (sic).”