68 Pages
Encyclopedia
68 Pages is a 2007 Indian
film about a HIV
/AIDS
counselor and five of her counselees who are from various marginalized communities. The film is directed by Sridhar Rangayan
and produced by The Humsafar Trust in association with Solaris Pictures
. It had its world premiere at the International Film Festival of Kerala and then has screened at several international film festivals. It won the Silver Remi award at WorldFest Houston International Film Festival 2008, USA. The film was also screened in the Pink Ribbon Express, a National AIDS Control Organisation
initiative.
The film weaves together five empathetic Mumbai-based short stories revolving around people living with AIDS from some of the marginalised sections of society like a sex worker
, a transsexual bar dancer and a gay couple. The common thread is hope.
, a gay
couple - characters often ignored by Bollywood
take center stage to tell their stories of pain and trauma, of happiness and hope. Coming from a country like India
that is still in denial, 68 Pages exposes the shallowness of its society to reveal how it stigmatizes and shuns those who are HIV+ or even those who just want to be what they are. This film deals with the issues of stigma and discrimination faced by people affected by HIV/AIDS from marginalized groups.
The film has been produced with support from Department for International Development
(DFID), UK. It has been made as an advocacy effort to support the National AIDS Control Organisation
(NACO) in National AIDS Control Programme–Phase III. In Phase III of the national programme it has been decided that the female sex workers, intravenous drug users, homosexuals and transgender will be considered core group and HIV projects will start up at a rapid scale in the next five years with these groups.
In the next five years of NACP-III, this film is scheduled to screen all over the country to various people who affect the lives of the HIV positive people and general populations in an attempt to bring a change in the attitude of the people towards people living with HIV.
The film has also been mandatory resource material for all counselor training programmes in India by NACO
.
Through these pages we see the stories of Paayal, a commercial sex worker
; Nishit, an ID user; Kiran, a gay
man and Umrao, a transsexual bar dancer–stories of being marginalized and discriminated before and after becoming HIV Positive. These stories have the capacity to touch, heal, change lives and hopefully bring about a better understanding of their fight to live with dignity.
- Director
/ Writer
Sridhar Rangayan
is a Bombay-based writer/director whose films present hard-hitting social issues and critique with warmth, compassion, and humour. His award-winning films The Pink Mirror
, Yours Emotionally
, and 68 Pages are at the forefront of India’s emergent queer cinema movement–ground-breaking in a country where homosexuality is still illegal and socially unacceptable. In 2006, he was awarded the South Asian & Foreign Achievers Award - which honours 50 achievers from around the world who have made an outstanding contribution in the global mainstream media. When not busy making films, Sridhar is an active member in several LGBT and HIV/AIDS community organizations in India.
The Humsafar Trust - Producer
The Humsafar Trust works with sexual minorities providing counselling, HIV
testing and treatment facilities. Its Center for Excellence (CEFE) emphasizes on research, capacity building of communities and media advocacy. The Advocacy unit of Humsafar works on creating awareness and sensitization on issues of sexuality and HIV/AIDS through street plays, IEC materials and films. It has also recently produced “Bridges of Hope” a 28 minute educational film on issues of homosexuality
and Transgender
issues for health care providers and State AIDS
Control Societies in India.
Solaris Pictures
- Associate Producer / Distributor
Solaris Pictures
is perhaps the only India
n film production company that has consistently been making films on issues such as homosexuality
and gay rights, films that engage the audience and initiate dialogues on issues dealing with health and sexuality, human rights, and the gay and transgender communities. Previous productions include: The Pink Mirror
, which has won two Best Film awards, and was screened at over 72 festivals; and 68 Pages, which won the Silver Remi award at the 2008 WorldFest Houston. Solaris Pictures
has pushed the envelope - both as producer and as distributor, and in partnering with grassroots NGOs and CBOs in India, and international collaborators from around the world.
Cinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
film about a HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
counselor and five of her counselees who are from various marginalized communities. The film is directed by Sridhar Rangayan
Sridhar Rangayan
Sridhar Rangayan ) is an Indian filmmaker who has made films with special focus on queer subjects. His queer films, The Pink Mirror and Yours Emotionally, have been considered groundbreaking because of their realistic and sympathetic portrayal of the largely closeted Indian gay community...
and produced by The Humsafar Trust in association with Solaris Pictures
Solaris Pictures
Solaris Pictures is an Indian film production company based in Mumbai. It was created by Sridhar Rangayan, and Saagar Gupta in 1991. The two have gone on to create several award winning films under Solaris Pictures' banner, focusing on LGBT issues and HIV/AIDS....
. It had its world premiere at the International Film Festival of Kerala and then has screened at several international film festivals. It won the Silver Remi award at WorldFest Houston International Film Festival 2008, USA. The film was also screened in the Pink Ribbon Express, a National AIDS Control Organisation
National AIDS Control Organisation
The National AIDS Control Organisation , established in 1992, is a division of India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that provides leadership to HIV/AIDS control programme in India through 35 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Societies, and is "the nodal organisation for formulation of policy...
initiative.
The film weaves together five empathetic Mumbai-based short stories revolving around people living with AIDS from some of the marginalised sections of society like a sex worker
Sex worker
A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
, a transsexual bar dancer and a gay couple. The common thread is hope.
Overview
A transsexual bar dancer, a sex workerSex worker
A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
, a gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
couple - characters often ignored by Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
take center stage to tell their stories of pain and trauma, of happiness and hope. Coming from a country like India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
that is still in denial, 68 Pages exposes the shallowness of its society to reveal how it stigmatizes and shuns those who are HIV+ or even those who just want to be what they are. This film deals with the issues of stigma and discrimination faced by people affected by HIV/AIDS from marginalized groups.
The film has been produced with support from Department for International Development
Department for International Development
The Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
(DFID), UK. It has been made as an advocacy effort to support the National AIDS Control Organisation
National AIDS Control Organisation
The National AIDS Control Organisation , established in 1992, is a division of India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that provides leadership to HIV/AIDS control programme in India through 35 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Societies, and is "the nodal organisation for formulation of policy...
(NACO) in National AIDS Control Programme–Phase III. In Phase III of the national programme it has been decided that the female sex workers, intravenous drug users, homosexuals and transgender will be considered core group and HIV projects will start up at a rapid scale in the next five years with these groups.
In the next five years of NACP-III, this film is scheduled to screen all over the country to various people who affect the lives of the HIV positive people and general populations in an attempt to bring a change in the attitude of the people towards people living with HIV.
The film has also been mandatory resource material for all counselor training programmes in India by NACO
Naco
Naco may refer to:* Naco , a pejorative slang term in Mexican Spanish* NaCo., a Mexican clothing company, the name of which is based on the previous slang term* Naco, Arizona, USA, a small town in southeastern Arizona...
.
Plot
A counselor’s ethics demand that she maintain confidentiality, be objective and not get emotional. But for a sensitive young woman like Mansi it is surely difficult to remain unaffected. Her true feelings are reflected in 68 Pages of her personal diary.Through these pages we see the stories of Paayal, a commercial sex worker
Sex worker
A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
; Nishit, an ID user; Kiran, a gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
man and Umrao, a transsexual bar dancer–stories of being marginalized and discriminated before and after becoming HIV Positive. These stories have the capacity to touch, heal, change lives and hopefully bring about a better understanding of their fight to live with dignity.
Cast
- Mauli GangulyMauli GangulyMouli Ganguly .-Early life:Ganguly graduated in science from the University of Calcutta in her native city Kolkata, but then moved to Mumbai to do a Hotel Management course...
as Mansi - Joy Sengupta as Kiran
- Jayati Bhatia as Paayal
- Zafar Karachiwala as Nishit
- Uday Sonawane as Umesh / Umrao
Festivals
- International Film Festival of Kerala, India (December 2007)
- Pune International Film Festival, India (January 2008)
- Montage International, Kerala, India (February 2008)
- Worldfest, Houston, USA (April 2008)–Winner: Silver Remi Award
- Bollywood & Beyond, Germany (July 2008)
- Nigah Queerfest, New Delhi, India
- Q! Film Festival, Indonesia
- Tasveer–Seattle Independent Film Festival (September 2008)
- A Million Different Loves, Poland (October 2008)
- Siddharth Gautam Film Festival, Bhubaneshwar, India (December 2008)
- Translations - Seattle Transgender Film Festival, USA (May 2009)
Team
Sridhar RangayanSridhar Rangayan
Sridhar Rangayan ) is an Indian filmmaker who has made films with special focus on queer subjects. His queer films, The Pink Mirror and Yours Emotionally, have been considered groundbreaking because of their realistic and sympathetic portrayal of the largely closeted Indian gay community...
- Director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
/ Writer
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Sridhar Rangayan
Sridhar Rangayan
Sridhar Rangayan ) is an Indian filmmaker who has made films with special focus on queer subjects. His queer films, The Pink Mirror and Yours Emotionally, have been considered groundbreaking because of their realistic and sympathetic portrayal of the largely closeted Indian gay community...
is a Bombay-based writer/director whose films present hard-hitting social issues and critique with warmth, compassion, and humour. His award-winning films The Pink Mirror
The Pink Mirror
The Pink Mirror, the Indian release title Gulabi Aaina is an award-winning Indian film drama produced and directed by Sridhar Rangayan. Said to be the first Indian film to comprehensively focus on Indian transsexuals with the entire story revolving around two transsexuals and a gay teenager's...
, Yours Emotionally
Yours Emotionally
Yours Emotionally is a United Kingdom-Indian co-produced film with a gay theme. The film was selected for participation in LGBT film festivals in San Francisco , New York , Amsterdam and others.-Summary:The film raises issues of cultural identities and challenges stereotypes...
, and 68 Pages are at the forefront of India’s emergent queer cinema movement–ground-breaking in a country where homosexuality is still illegal and socially unacceptable. In 2006, he was awarded the South Asian & Foreign Achievers Award - which honours 50 achievers from around the world who have made an outstanding contribution in the global mainstream media. When not busy making films, Sridhar is an active member in several LGBT and HIV/AIDS community organizations in India.
The Humsafar Trust - Producer
The Humsafar Trust works with sexual minorities providing counselling, HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
testing and treatment facilities. Its Center for Excellence (CEFE) emphasizes on research, capacity building of communities and media advocacy. The Advocacy unit of Humsafar works on creating awareness and sensitization on issues of sexuality and HIV/AIDS through street plays, IEC materials and films. It has also recently produced “Bridges of Hope” a 28 minute educational film on issues of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and Transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
issues for health care providers and State AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
Control Societies in India.
Solaris Pictures
Solaris Pictures
Solaris Pictures is an Indian film production company based in Mumbai. It was created by Sridhar Rangayan, and Saagar Gupta in 1991. The two have gone on to create several award winning films under Solaris Pictures' banner, focusing on LGBT issues and HIV/AIDS....
- Associate Producer / Distributor
Solaris Pictures
Solaris Pictures
Solaris Pictures is an Indian film production company based in Mumbai. It was created by Sridhar Rangayan, and Saagar Gupta in 1991. The two have gone on to create several award winning films under Solaris Pictures' banner, focusing on LGBT issues and HIV/AIDS....
is perhaps the only India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n film production company that has consistently been making films on issues such as homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and gay rights, films that engage the audience and initiate dialogues on issues dealing with health and sexuality, human rights, and the gay and transgender communities. Previous productions include: The Pink Mirror
The Pink Mirror
The Pink Mirror, the Indian release title Gulabi Aaina is an award-winning Indian film drama produced and directed by Sridhar Rangayan. Said to be the first Indian film to comprehensively focus on Indian transsexuals with the entire story revolving around two transsexuals and a gay teenager's...
, which has won two Best Film awards, and was screened at over 72 festivals; and 68 Pages, which won the Silver Remi award at the 2008 WorldFest Houston. Solaris Pictures
Solaris Pictures
Solaris Pictures is an Indian film production company based in Mumbai. It was created by Sridhar Rangayan, and Saagar Gupta in 1991. The two have gone on to create several award winning films under Solaris Pictures' banner, focusing on LGBT issues and HIV/AIDS....
has pushed the envelope - both as producer and as distributor, and in partnering with grassroots NGOs and CBOs in India, and international collaborators from around the world.