South Asian Women’s Focus 5th Year Anniversary - Films -performances, visual art, workshops and speakers

 Tasveer and Chaya present

Aaina: South Asian Women’s Focus

5th Year Anniversary!!!

April 9th, 10th, 11th

Ethnic Cultural Theater, University of Washington

This is an amazing and moving event if you get a chance to attend.  A friend of mine preformed in the Yoni Ki Baat last year and it was so incredible as many of them preformed their own stories.  I got to meet some of the women as well and it was truly a gift.  They also have short films and the 'Sum Total' has a lesbian theme that is very relevant for anyone who has ever had to deal with family having expectations that don't quite fit with ours. 

I hope to see some of you at the performances.  Ms T
   
Featuring YONI KI BAAT! (South Asian adaptation of the Vagina Monologues).

Aaina, which in Urdu means mirror, focuses on and celebrates the artistic and activist work by, for, and about South Asian women. The variety of media includes film, performances, visual art, workshops and speakers aimed at highlighting issues relevant to South Asian women. Chaya will be releasing its first ever zine publication, a compilation of personal narratives, perspectives, and art to raise awareness about issues of violence and oppression in the South Asian community. Look out for 3 shows of the popular and powerful Yoni ki Baat on April, 9, 10, and 11!


Yoni Ki Baat is a collection of authentic, bold, vivid, tender, powerful and poignant stories told by South Asian women.

YKB 2009 Translated as “Talks of the Vagina,” Yoni Ki Baat* was inspired by Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues. Seattle’s Yoni Ki Baat has now taken a creative life of its own, propelled by the courageous voices of local South Asian women, and creating a unique space of sharing and community through sourcing and presenting true stories. Our narratives shed light on the special challenges experienced in the South Asian socio-cultural context, whether homegrown or related to the diaspora, while also expressing opportunities, dreams and aspirations for change. Acknowledging female sexuality as an essential aspect of identity and expression, this transformative space encourages South Asian women to speak out on behalf of their bodies in an effort to obliterate violence,! stigma and dogma.

Every year Yoni Ki Baat is unique featuring local South Asian women, many of whom write their own scripts. This year’s Yoni Ki Baat is directed by Anjulie Ganti, a longtime Chaya and Tasveer supporter.

*Yoni Ki Baat was originally started by South Asian Sisters, a progressive collective of South Asian women, who have been organizing an annual Yoni Ki Baat in San Francisco area, and continue to kindly let us present their scripts.


Every year thus far, YKB has been sold out!

Buy your tickets today at:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/104025

FILMS AT AAINA

Tasveer Picks: International Shorts made by and about South Asian women
$8, Saturday, April 10th, 5PM, ECC

Tasveer Picks some old and some new for this beautiful, inspiring and complex collection of short films. We are still confirming the lineup, but stay tuned. Here are few that have been confirmed:

Little Miss Eyeflap ( Iram Haq, Norway, 2009, 9min)

Through a ten-minute aesthetic animation film withreal actors, we follow a young immigrant girl’s hesitant steps out into the Norwegian reality. For the first time, Skylappjenta has to find her way in life alone, as an assimilated Pakistani who belongs nowhere.
" Official Selection of Sundance Film Festival 2010 "

The program will feature the first film to be ever screened by Tasveer:

Sum Total (Sonali Gulati, US, 2000, 5min):
What does an Indian lesbian do when her family puts pressure on her to get married? What does her matrimonial advertisement look like? sum total answers these questions through a short poetic film that addresses issues of identity, self-representation, and hetronormativity.


Have You Dreamt of Cinema? (Hansa Thapliyal, India, 15 min)

On three women who live along Film City Road – their relationship with the idea of recreation and the place that cinema has as a pleasure house in their lives.

Desire Of The Moth (Amrita Mahadik, India, 2005, 15min)

This 76-year-old YOUNG woman looks like any grandma next door but her paintings reflect the maturity of a Sensitive Artiste. Her half "Marathi" half "Tamil" features add a unique charm to her personality. An honest human being with child-like genuineness and with true spirit, who has accepted life as it came, Shakuntala Patade, the grandma with an impish smile has a lot to tell through the film.


Program sponsored by Dreamfly

Laxmi and Me
Nishtha Jain, India, 2008, 59minutes, Hindi/English, DVD
$5, Sunday, April 11th, 3PM, ECC

Even in a metropolis like Bombay, old feudal attitudes still govern relationships between employers and their ‘servants'. Against this backdrop, Nishtha begins making a film with Lakshmi, her part-time maid. 20-year-old Lakshmi's is a precarious existence to begin with; illness and romance compound her problems in unexpected ways. As the filmmaker is drawn deeper into Lakshmi's life, she is forced to look at aspects of her own self as well, and to question many of the things she takes for granted. During a year and a half of dramatic changes, the process of filming has its own impact on unfolding events and on the relationship between the two women.

If you missed the film on PBS here is your another chance to view. Here is the article from PBS
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/lakshmiandme/film.html

Thanks to Tasveer Newsletter: February 2008

On Seattle Announcements Calendar.