Ronita Torcato

The 8th edition of the first of its kind travelling and educational film festival – We Care Filmfest 2011 on Disability Issues  - will be launched from the Y B Chavan Centre, Mumbai, on January 17, 2011 at 10.00 am and will travel across India to various universities and educational institutions.

The We Care Filmfest will be launched in the presence of various local partners - both government and non-governmental - of Mumbai including the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, (AYJNIHH), the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), the SNDT Women’s College,the ADAPT and the Helen Kellar Institute for Deaf and Deafblind.

The festival will be inaugurated by renowned Producer and Director Govind Nihalani. Distinguished invitees include Ad Film Director Prahlad Kakkar; Mr Rao Saheb Shekhawat, MLA Amrawati; Mr. Rajiv Chandran, National Information Officer, United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan; Mrs. Poonam Natrajan, Chairperson, National Trust; Mr. Sandeep Marwah, President, Asian Academy of Film and Television. The Festival Director is Satish Kapoor.

The We Care Filmfest on Disability Issues was launched by Delhi-based non-governmental organization Brotherhood in 2003 and has become a travelling film festival which will travel to 25 venues across India after the Mumbai launch.  Some of the venues  are Tata Institute of Social Sciences, AYJ NIHH, Mumbai, SNDT Women’s College, Tezpur University, Manipal Institute of Communication, Manipal University etc.

The Festival's founder partners are the United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan (UNIC), UNESCO, the National Trust which functions under the Social Empowerment Ministry, and the Asian Academy of Film and Television (AAFT).

This year a total number of 67 documentary films in four categories – up to one minute, up to five minutes, up to 30 minutes, and up to 75 minutes - from India and from various other countries like the USA, Canada, Israel, the UK, Indonesia, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Australia, Nepal etc. afre being exhibited. 

 
It is planned to organize the film festival  in SAARC countries ( as well Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan) from January to May 2011.

 A Preview Committee meeting held at Marawah Studios, Noida and AYJ National Institute of Hearing Handicapped, Mumbai, selected 28 documentary films for the 8th edition of the We Care Filmfest. The members of the Preview Committee were: Noida: Mr. B B Nagpal (Head Jury in Noida), Mr. Abhinav, Dr. Lavlin Thadani, Ms.  Vandana and Richa Bharti; and in Mumbai: Mr. Shridhar Rangayan (Head of Jury), Mr. Sopan Mueller, Ms. Neenu Kelwani, Ms. Sunita Sancheti, Ms. Anshika Mishra, Mr. Yogesh Desai, Ms. Suni Mathew, Ms. Srilatha Juvwa and Mr. Jamshed Mistry.

The Festival's uniqueness lies in the fact that audiences have to watch and rate each and every documentary film. For this purpose, a participatory rating process has been introduced over the past four years. This approach will help students of Mass Media, whenever they plan to make short films/documentaries on disability issues, and they will be sensitized on various aspects and issues of disabilities in the right perspective.