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Something Like a War, dir. Deepa Dhanraj, India 1991, 52 min., 16mm (digital transfer)
At a time when the narrative about development in India was focused on the issue of overpopulation with the blame and responsibility being directed towards the poor, Something Like a War is a chilling examination of the brutal, coercive and corrupt nature of the family planning program from the point of view of the women who are its primary targets. As the women themselves discuss their status, sexuality, fertility control and health, it is clear that their perceptions are in conflict with those of the programme.
Rooted in the social and political struggles of the women’s liberation movement in the 1970s, The Invisible Self is a programme of feminist films made between 1985 – 1991 that journeys through the lives of women who challenged traditional patriarchal structures in India. The complexities of women’s invisible labour as reproductive machines, sexual objects, home makers and keepers of tradition, morality and cultural history are made starkly visible. By highlighting the interconnectedness of the individual and social self, these films offer an encounter with diverse forms of feminisms. Personal liberation is embedded in collective liberation.
In the presence of Deepa Dhanraj and followed by a conversation between Deepa Dhanraj and Shai Heredia.
The Invisible Self is curated by Shai Heredia, founding director of Experimenta India.
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