Editor,
Though Anuparna Roy must be congratulated for establishing herself as the first Indian to win the Best Director Award in the Orizzonti (Horizon) Competition section (an international competition for films that highlight new trends, with a focus on debut works, young talents and indie features) of the 82nd Venice Film Festival through her debut film “Songs of Forgotten Trees”, greater credit remains in her acceptance speech from the podium, invoking the ongoing Isreal-Palestinian conflict and highlighting the woes of the children in Gaza who also deserve peace freedom and liberation.
“It is a responsibility to think for a moment and stand beside Palestine. I might upset my country, but it doesn’t matter to me any more,” she said.
This is called humanity, which must transcend nationality, religion, race, colour, caste and all petty man-made barriers. Also, one must remain accountable to one’s own conscience only without a care about what the indifferent countrymen or “mainstream” think about in this regard. After all, even if you form a minority of one, truth still remains the truth.
Roy’s film is also a tribute to all women who are silenced, overlooked and underestimated and she hopes that her win will “inspire more voices, more stories, more power for women in cinema and beyond”.
Let’s hope the humanitarian dream of Anuparna Roy gets realised with the women and children of the world at last attaining their entitled place under the sun through proper recognition, rights, freedom and liberation.
Kajal Chatterjee
Kolkata
Via e-mail
