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Women's Day is coming up this week, and while we are a huge fan of flowers and chocolates, a meaningful gift you can give the women in your lives is understanding. Meryl Streep once said on a panel that women are fluent in language of men, which couldn't be said for the opposite. Unless you listen to the stories of women's lived experiences, the perplexing question of 'What do women want?' will forever be the bane of your existence.
Enter the Asian Women’s Film Festival, a space where listening transforms into an immersive experience. Now in its 20th edition, the festival brings together some of the most powerful and poignant narratives from women across Asia, offering us a rare opportunity to engage with stories not merely about women, but by women. Curated by the esteemed film editor Bina Paul, this year’s festival promises a stunning lineup of fiction, non-fiction, animation, and short films, each contributing to the mosaic of female storytelling. It’s a cinematic world built by women, for everyone.
The Asian Women’s Film Festival is a celebration of perspectives often left on the margins. Whether it's the personal becoming political or everyday resistance manifesting in subtle ways, the festival foregrounds stories that challenge, celebrate, and question the world around us. The films being showcased this year traverse themes of identity, displacement, memory, and resilience — each a window into the diverse realities of women across the continent.
The festival is also a hub for dialogue. Alongside screenings, it will host masterclasses and panel discussions with filmmakers like Mira Nair, Payal Kapadia, Hwang Hei Rim, and Akiko Ashizawa, who will explore topics ranging from women in the arts to climate change and gender justice. Adding to the celebration, this edition pays tribute to two stalwarts of cinema, Manjira Datta and Aruna Vasudev, whose contributions to film and storytelling remain unparalleled.
The festival kicks off with 'The Sharp Edge of Peace', a gripping documentary by Roya Sadat. This political thriller follows four Afghan women navigating peace negotiations in a country that is determined to erase their rights. Against the backdrop of the Taliban’s resurgence, these women stand resilient, negotiating not just with men across the table but with history itself.
One of the festival’s most introspective segments, 'A Room of Our Own', takes us into the inner worlds of women through deeply personal films that explore identity, belonging, and transformation. 'Finding Light-ness' by Maheen Mirza examines the emotions of a cinematography student through the images she creates. Prachee Bajania’s 'S7 Girls’ Hostel (Red Door on the Right)' is a poetic recollection of life at the Film and Television Institute of India, framed through dreamy archival footage. Meanwhile, 'An Ode to the Saree' by Parvati Menon turns the seemingly simple act of wearing a saree into a statement of defiance and pride. Each of these films offers a glimpse into how women carve spaces — both physical and metaphorical — for themselves in a world that often denies them room to breathe.
The 'Rough Edges' section comes from the collective that brings us raw, unfiltered documentaries rooted in feminist and queer politics. The award-winning 'Umbro' by Prachee Bajania is a tender ode to the unspoken solidarities between women in a small town in Gujarat, mapping the unseen joys of female friendships. 'All That We Own' by Aprajita Gupta lingers in the echoes of displacement, questioning whether home is a place, a memory, or an illusion. Meanwhile, 'What Will People Say' by Rafina Khatun follows a young Muslim woman using community radio as a weapon against oppression, even as she battles societal scrutiny.
Beyond the personal and political, the festival’s documentaries push cinematic boundaries. 'A Terrible Beauty' by Iram Ghufran blurs the line between documentary and science fiction, following an eerie companionship between a woman and a mannequin in a futuristic China. 'Cinema pe Cinema' by Vani Subramanian takes a nostalgic trip through India’s single-screen theatres, exploring how they’ve shaped and been shaped by the audiences they serve. And then there’s 'Farming the Revolution 'by Nishtha Jain, a visceral look at the massive farmers’ protests in India, where women stood at the frontlines, rewriting the rules of resistance.
The festival also features animated films and shorts that pack a punch in their brevity. 'Bunnyhood' by Mansi Maheshwari takes a darkly surreal turn, unfolding a child’s betrayal at the hands of her mother. Meanwhile, 'Chimera: The Lucid Reverie' by Aishwarya Thankachan drifts between dreams and reality, as a woman clings to the hope of reuniting with her son. 'Lovely & Tip Top' by Yuki Ellias, set in a dystopian mountain village, where a quirky lingerie shop becomes a site of quiet rebellion.
One of the most anticipated screenings at the festival is Payal Kapadia’s documentary film that balances protest with poetry, 'A Night Of Knowing Nothing'. While her Cannes-winning feature, 'All We Imagine as Light', is now the center of attention, the screening is a rare opportunity to witness the seeds of her poetic and intimate storytelling — an approach that challenges the current status quo of mainstream cinematic treatment. This festival, in many ways, is an invitation to embrace a shift into the female gaze; to attune ourselves to a softer and more nuanced way of seeing the world.
The Asian Women's Film Festival 2025
When: March 6 - 8, 2025
Where: C. D. Deshmukh Auditorium & Conference Room 1, India International Centre, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi
Register for the festival here.
