Kochi: Kerala's Women in Cinema Collective entering the third year has inspired the best practices manual for the film industry focusing on women across languages. The manual is expected to be ready by December.
The decision to prepare the manual was taken during the two-day discussions held in Kochi along with the second-anniversary celebrations of the WCC.
Apart from Malayalam film industry, representatives from Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi also took part in the deliberations.
The decision on the manual was on the realisation that women in the industry face similar kinds of issues across the country.
The attempt is to prepare a comprehensive manual.
A conference to be held in Chennai in September will further elaborate on the themes and ideas discussed here on its content. Apart from Tamil, representatives from languages across India are expected at the Chennai conference.
In Kochi, a proposal to interact with the respective state governments after the completion of the manual also came up.
The idea behind the manual is prompted by the fact that the governments concerned are unable to make any effective intervention on problems faced by women due to the lack of clear information.
The WCC review points out the lack of such material in the public domain.
The report of the Hema Commission, appointed by the state government to study the issues, is likely to bring a change in the situation. It is expected in the next few weeks.
The US Consul General in Chennai supported the Kochi meet held in association with Sakhi Women Resources Centre.
Prominent attendees included Revathy, Parvathy, Padma Priya, Swara Bhaskar, Beena Paul, Mala Parvathy, Sajitha Madathil, Vidhu Vincent, Kani Kusruti, Namita Naik, Asha Joseph, Jolly Chirayath, Divya Gopinath.
The WCC was formed in the state in the wake of the abduction and sexual assault of a woman actor in Kochi two years ago. It provided an impetus to discussions on the prevailing gender injustices in the film industry.
