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The We Care Film Festival is an effort by the Indian organization Brotherhood, in partnership with UNESCO, to raise awareness and to dispel stereotypes about people with disabilities.
According to the United Nations, one billion people in the world constitute the largest global minority, people with disabilities. Of this population, 40-80 million reside in India. [1] India plays an active role in the disability rights movement and has ratified and signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007. [2] However, it does not adequately address the challenges faced by these groups of people, such as lack of accessibility throughout the country. Another crucial issue is the promotion of negative stereotypes about disability in films, like those from Bollywood.
Brotherhood is an organization that has been actively fighting for the rights of disabled communities since 2002. They have pioneered the disability rights movement by carrying out conversations, and taking advantage of the influence of audio-visual media. Through various initiatives, they strive to utilize documentaries and film to dispel stereotypes and misconceptions pertaining to disabilities, and to raise awareness among the Indian public as well as global audiences. [3]
Drawing on the aforementioned UN treaty, Brotherhood - in collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan, [4] UNESCO, National Trust [5] (a Statutory Body of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment) and Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication [6] - organize the We Care Film Festival every year. [7] This year marked the festival's thirteenth year, a milestone because it is the only international film festival that is officially recognized as a UNESCO partner, according to the New Delhi Declaration, which was adopted by UNESCO and signed by 203 countries as of November 2015. [8] [9]
Dr. Sushma Batra, Professor of Social Work at the University at Delhi, and K. Kannan, a New Delhi-based journalist, are advocates of the movement toward disability rights. They write:
While there are people who believe in the power of cinema to change the world, there are others who say that its chief purpose is to entertain people. And so, the disability experience too has been twisted and distorted to suit the dynamics of entertainment by many film-makers across the globe. And there have been some who have used films to highlight the reality of the disability experience and the diversity it brings to the world, how coping-up mechanisms highlight the triumph of spirit over the body and so on.
Kannan and Dr. Batra acknowledge the strong sphere of influence that cinema has in societies, nationally and internationally. They point out that due to the goal of entertaining the masses, filmmakers undermine the experiences of disabled populations through some very negative stereotypes and tropes. Many Bollywood films either over-dramatize disabled characters or mock them through cartoon-esque and pity-inducing depictions. [10]
This section will examine common tropes – highlighted by Kannan and Dr. Batra [10] – employed by filmmakers in Bollywood film, notions that this film festival seeks to dispel.
Disabled characters may be utilized as a comic interlude for the entertainment of audiences. A film series that perfectly illustrates this is Golmaal. They may be regarded with pity and a sense of condescension. The trope, a patronizing attitude, is used to paint the "hero" or protagonist of a film in a positive light by means of looking down upon the disabled character. Disability has been used by filmmakers as a convenience to enhance the plot of the story. An example is Koyla (1997 film).
Some films depict disabled characters as heroes, which can be very problematic. Through the language and behaviors used in certain films, disabled peoples are portrayed as being liabilities and burdensome unproductive members of society.
Films may downplay the magnitude of disabilities by imparting the idea that there are "quick fixes" to an individual's disabilities, like Deewane Huye Paagal (2005 film). Lastly, films portray disabled peoples as being "cured" by external forces, such as by aliens in Koi... Mil Gaya (2003 film).
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, sensory, or a combination of multiple factors. Disabilities can be present from birth or can be acquired during a person's lifetime. Historically, disabilities have only been recognized based on a narrow set of criteria—however, disabilities are not binary and can be present in unique characteristics depending on the individual. A disability may be readily visible, or invisible in nature.
Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous country, Bhutan is known locally as "Druk Yul" or "Land of the Thunder Dragon", a name reflecting the cultural heritage of the country. The exonym Bhutan likely derives from the Prakrit hybrid word Bhŏṭṭaṃta, a name referring to its geographical proximity to Tibet. Nepal and Bangladesh are located near Bhutan but do not share a border with it. The country has a population of over 727,145 and territory of 38,394 square kilometres (14,824 sq mi) and ranks 133rd in terms of land area and 160th in population. Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy with a king as the head of state and a prime minister as the head of government. Vajrayana Buddhism is the state religion and the Je Khenpo is the head of state religion.
K. G. Suresh is a New Delhi based senior journalist, columnist and communication specialist. He is currently serving as Vice Chancellor of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, Bhopal. He is also Emeritus Professor at the Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi & Hony Professor with Apeejay Stya University, India's first liberal arts university.
Disabled Peoples' International (DPI) is a cross disability, consumer controlled international non-governmental organization (INGO) headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and with regional offices in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and North America and the Caribbean. DPI is a network of national organizations or assemblies of disabled people, established in 1980–81 to promote the human rights of disabled people through full participation, equalization of opportunity and development. DPI assists organisations in over 152 nations with the day to day issues of helping disabled people. They also host assemblies and symposiums across the world with their different national branches.
Eric Falt is a French senior official at the United Nations, currently serving as the Director and UNESCO Representative for the UNESCO New Delhi Cluster Office. Prior to his current appointment, he served at senior level appointments at the UN and the UNESCO. He served as the Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Public Information at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris between 2010 and 2018.
The depiction of disability in the media plays a major role in molding the public perception of disability. Perceptions portrayed in the media directly influence the way people with disabilities are treated in current society. "[Media platforms] have been cited as a key site for the reinforcement of negative images and ideas in regard to people with disabilities."
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Dr Satendra Singh is a medical doctor at the University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, Delhi. A physiologist by profession, he contracted poliomyelitis at the age of nine months but went on to complete a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur and later on Doctor of Medicine in Physiology. He is the first ever Indian to win the prestigious Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards given to extraordinary leaders in global disability community. He is a noted disability activist especially for his sustained efforts in making public places accessible for disabled persons for which he was conferred National Award by President of India. He is also the first Indian to be awarded the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics fellowship at the University of Chicago. Singh had been involved in the synthesis of epibatidine analogues, leading to the discovery of epiboxidine. In contrast to RTI-336, which positions a 3-tolyl group on the isoxazole ring to the DAT receptor, a phenyl group was too sterically encumbered to be tolerated in the case of the nicotinic receptors. Although aromatic moieties seem to be tolerated at the mGlu5 receptor in the case of ADX-47273.
Uma Tuli is an Indian social worker, educationist and the founder of Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust, a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation, working for the rehabilitation of physically disabled people. She was honoured by the Government of India, in 2012, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Karan Paul is the chairman of the Apeejay Surrendra Group, one of India's oldest and largest privately-owned family businesses. Established in Jalandhar in 1910, the Group has more than 43,000 employees across tea, hospitality, shipping, retail, real estate, and other sectors.
There are 26.8 million people with disabilities in India according to the 2011 census of India, while other sources have offered higher estimates. India is a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Legislation that affects people with disabilities in India includes the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the Mental Health Care Act, 2017, the National Trust Act, 1999, and the Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992. People with disabilities in India are faced with negative social attitudes in the wider population.
Apoorv Om is a deaf and Young Innovative artist and activist from New Delhi who advocates for deaf inclusion into the mainstream. Honoured as a Youth Activist for the UN Sustainable Development Goals and invited to the Second International Conference on Youth Volunteering & Dialogue at UNESCO's Headquarters, Om was awarded India's National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities(Divyangjan) by President of India and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Department of Emp. of PwDs, Government of India, on event of International Day of Persons with Disabilities at New Delhi on 3 December 2017. The President of the UN ECOSOC invited him to ECOSOC Youth Forum 2019 at United Nations headquarter, New York. Mr. Apoorv spoke about Climate action for paper recycling initiatives at all levels.
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