COVID-Conscious Red Carpet & Screening for I-View World

Engendered’s I-VIEW World Film Festival Commenced on International Human Rights Day with Red Carpet & Screening of
Deepa Mehta’s FUNNY BOY,
Followed by Impact Awards For Artists

(New Delhi, India – December 15, 2020) To commemorate International Human Rights Day on December 10th, Engendered, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating awareness around issues of gender, sexuality and marginalities, launched the 3rd iteration of I-View World, a global, HYBRID, human rights film festival comprised of shorts, documentaries and feature films from India, Pakistan, Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, Argentina, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, Turkey/Syria, Iran and Thailand. The festival continues through December 20th and is available to audiences from India and New York City at www.plexigo.com/iviewworld2020.

The opening night screening of Oscar-nominated director Deepa Mehta’s FUNNY BOY, also Canada’s official entry to the 2021 Oscars, was preceded by a star-studded, socially distant, COVID-conscious red carpet at DLF Cyber Hub open air Ampitheatre in Gurgaon, Haryana, and followed by Engendered’s Impact Awards.

Deirdre Kent, Canada’s Deputy High Commissioner in India presented the following three awards:
Engendered Torch Bearer Award – Deepa Mehta
Engendered Spirit of Independent Cinema Award – Onir
Engendered Global Impact Award – Richie Mehta’s Netflix web series DELHI CRIME, accepted by actor Rajesh Tailang

Jonathan Kennedy, Director of Arts for the British Council presented:
Engendered Independent Actress of the Year Award – Sayani Gupta
Louise Varvsten – Second Secretary of the Swedish Embassy presented:
Engendered Agent of Change Award – Bani J
Victoria Molteni & Carlos Muscari, Second Secretaries of the Embassy of Argentina in India presented the following two awards:
Engendered Creative Force of the Year Award – Vivek Gomber
Engendered Emerging Artist of the Year Award – Faraz Arif Ansari
Sharad Mehra, Head of Executive Leadership at Pearl Academy presented:
Engendered Breakthrough Performance Award – Swara Bhaskar

Captions (clockwise from top):
Deepa Mehta accepts Engendered Torch Bearer Award
Onir accepts accepts Engendered Spirit of Independent Cinema Award
Bani J accepts Engendered Agent of Change Award
Sayani Gupta accepts Engendered Independent Actress of the Year Award
Swara Bhaskar accepts Engendered Breakthrough Performance Award
Photo Credit: I-View World Film Festival

On Friday, December 11th, I-View World host TWO physical, socially-distant, COVID-conscious screenings of Rohena Gera’s SIR and Faraz Arif Ansari’s SHEER QORMA at the PVR Cinemas in Chanakyapuri Mall, followed by a round table discussion on “Independent Cinema and the Politics of Representation.” And on Sunday, December 20th, I-View World will host a physical, socially-distant, COVID-conscious screening of its closing night film, Sarmad Khoosat’s ZINDAGI TAMASHA, Pakistan’s official entry to the 2021 Oscars, with the director in attendance virtually.

Some of the other virtual highlights this week include:
Arshad Khan’s documentary ABU, exploring the troubled relationship between the gay filmmaker and his devout, Muslim Pakistani father.
AND THEN WE DANCED, the passionate coming-of age tale set amidst the conservative confines of modern Georgian society.
MORE FILMS FOR FREEDOM and THE UNCERTAIN KINGDOM, curated in association with British Film Institute and presented by the British Council of India. The films are an intersection of climate change, migration, disability, homelessness and sexuality.
Visual Culture Section, featuring the India Premiere of Short Film OCTOBER RUMBLES by two-time Cannes Festival Prize Winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Doc CAN ART STOP A BULLET: WILLIAM KELLY’S BIG PICTURE by Mark Street.
Women in independent cinema, feature narrative MAADHATY by Leena Manimekalai, docu-fiction EBANG BEWARISH and IF YOU DARE DESIRE by Debalina Majumdar and short film AYESHA by Ambarein Alaqdar.

***For the complete lineup of the 50+ films being shown virtually as part of the I-View World Film Festival, please visit www.plexigo.com/iviewworld2020 for trailers, synopses and schedule. All films are FREE and open to the general public who register on the Plexigo app or through the website. Only audiences in India and New York City will be able to access the programming.

Festival Partner: NYC South Asian Film Festival
Exclusive Media Partner: Asian Variety Show (AVS)

Presenting Partners:

Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA)
Emami Art
High Commission of Canada in India
Instituto Italiano De Cultura, New Delhi
Pearl Academy
European Union
Embassy of Argentina
Embassy of Netherlands
Embassy of Sweden