Social media funds movie I Am

SOCIAL media sites have given filmmakers more freedom to tackle sensitive issues. Funded through Facebook by more than 400 people around the world, I Am is a thought-provoking film touching on thorny issues facing modern day India, including homosexuality, prostitution and child abuse. Joyce Ho reports.

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What does a sperm donation recipient, a refugee affected by the India-Kashmir conflict, a sexually abused adolescent and a heterosexual blackmail victim have in common? They were all part of this stunning Indian movie funded by social media platforms.

While gaining funding from such platforms to explore social issues might sound like an ingenious concept, it was a lack of cash that turned out to be a blessing in disguise for director and producer Onirban Dhar, better known as Onir.

I AM AFIA is the story of a single woman who feels her identity will be made whole through the singular feminine experience of motherhood. Unable to trust or even wait for a man, her search is defined – does motherhood necessarily require the burden of a man?

“I went to Facebook and friends whom I had worked with to ask for funding. I’m not a social activist or a politician, but the only voice I have is through film. These stories are based on true stories. Ones that are present in a lot of people’s lives, but often left unspoken. There’s a lot of silence and I just hope this film starts more dialogues,” Onir said at the film’s debut screening at this year’s Indian Film Festival.

Onir himself is famously known as the only openly gay director in India, and the movie eventually received donations from more 400 people worldwide, allowing its creators to freely tackle taboo subjects.

I AM MEGHA is a story of two friends – a Kashmiri Pandit woman and a Muslim woman – separated by conflict. Against the backdrop of the exodus of Hindu’s in Kashmir in early 90’s, it’s a story of loss of home and identity.

Unconventional, thought provoking and beautifully crafted, I Am’s four stories about four different characters in modern day India are all connected by a central theme – fear.

But if you’re thinking this is a Bollywood version of Babel or Love Actually, you’re wrong. There is no singing or dancing, only carefully chosen music that carries on the message slowly and stylistically.

I AM OMAR touches on the issue of gay rights. It reveals how the police use Article 377 (law under Indian Penal code which criminalises homosexuality) to harass and blackmail gay men.

Onir works especially hard to draw the movie audience into the story without giving too much away. The end result leaves us with enough critical distance to reflect upon the movie’s heavy themes.

The characters and plotlines themselves are not interwoven. Instead, each narrative is allocated approximately half an hour to focus on the crux of the issue.

“I wanted each story to have an open ending because that’s how it is in real life. I didn’t want to superimpose a structure on it,” Onir explained.

I AM ABHIMANYU is the story of a broken man, with a proud mask. Abhimanyu is trapped by the demons of his past, a past of sexual abuse. To move forward he must first go back, into a world where his childhood was stolen from him.

Juhi Chawala, one of the many passionate actors in the movie who also contributed financially to it, played the role of a returning Kashmiri Pandit.

“These issues may feel so far removed sometimes, but when I was doing this film, I was quite shocked to find out that my character was actually based on (co-producer) Sanjay’s story, and his was more disturbing. The movie brought what was happening there at that time to life,” she said.

I Am has already won several awards including the 2010 Best Asian Film Award at the International Film Festival of Kerala and the I-VIEW Film Festival’s Engendered Award for Human Rights – a testament to the movie’s dedicated themes and drive for social justice.

As Juhi Chawala aptly put it, “You can’t ignore this film.”

I Am opens April 29, 2011 at Hoyts Northland, Hoyts Chadstone and Hoyts Highpoint. Visit www.mindblowingfilms.com for more information.