Held on the first day of the festival, April 11th 2023 at 7.30 PM UAE and 3.30 PM GMT, the conversation will focus on feminist narratives and discourse in response to the cultures of objectification, commodification and violence as depicted, positioned and glorified in film and across the media landscape. What are the challenges and complexities of gendered movements in transnational contexts (including transnational media) in light of movies like Gone Girl vis-à-vis its feminist interpretation as well as backlash.
The event will be live-streamed on Ananke’s Facebook page – @anankemag with the option to participate in all live sessions via Zoom. To attend the session, email: media@anankemag.com (please write: Zoom registration in the subject line).
Panelists include eminent industry names: Annie Zaidi and Sirah Haq with Radhika Maira Tabrez chairing the session.
Annie Zaidi is the author of City of Incident; Prelude to a Riot; and Bread, Cement, Cactus: A memoir of belonging and dislocation. She is also the editor of Unbound: 2000 Years of Indian Women’s Writing, and Equal Halves. Other books include Gulab; Love Stories # 1 to 14; Known Turf: Bantering with Bandits and Other True Tales, The Good Indian Girl and Crush.
She received the Tata Literature Live Award for fiction (2020), the Nine Dots Prize (2019), and The Hindu Playwright Award (2018) for Untitled 1. Her radio script ‘Jam’ was named regional (South Asia) winner for the BBC’s International Playwriting Competition (2011). Her work has appeared in several anthologies and literary journals including The Griffith Review, The Aleph Review, The Massachusetts Review, The Charles River Journal, The Missing Slate and Out of Print. She has also written and directed several short films and the documentary film, In her words: The journey of Indian women.
“I am excited about being at Ananke’s literary festival again. The mix of guests spans not only multiple regions but also disciplines and industries, which makes the conversation much eclectic and more unexpected, in the best of ways. I am looking forward to discussions on urban loneliness, and the feminine presence/absence in media,” said Annie Zaidi, talking about her participation.
“Over the last few years, WLF has become a yearly event I look forward to with utmost excitement and curiosity. Their session line-up is always full of opportunities to engage and learn from, talks that motivate and inspire, and conversations that one is tempted to ruminate over, long after the festival is finished,” noted Radhika Maira Tabrez
Radhika Maira Tabrez is an Indian writer, editor, Learning & Development specialist, radio show host, and Tedx speaker.
Her debut novel In The Light Of Darkness won the much-coveted Muse India – Satish Verma Young Writer Award in 2016.[1] Her second novella, The Emancipation of Farzana Siddiqui, was released in early 2019 to rave reviews. Radhika’s stories and essays have appeared in over a dozen anthologies; the latest one being the first print edition of the other side of hope – an international collection of works by immigrants and refugees, supported by the Arts Council, UK, and the University of Leeds.
She was also a member of the Kalam Library Project, an initiative that aims at putting a free library within the reach of the village and small-town children.
Radhika works with the Kamloops Film Society, and is the first Indian to be on the board of the prestigious Western Canada Theatre. She hosts a weekly show on CFBX (the alternative radio station of Kamloops), called New In The Loops, focusing on new immigrant experiences in Kamloops in particular, and in Canada in general. She was commissioned as an influencer by Tourism Kamloops, to write a series of blog articles for their website, highlighting Kamloops as a destination of choice for potential immigrants to Canada. She also volunteers for Kamloops Sexual Assault Counselling Center and PitStop. She is an active advocate of mental health and supports many organizations and groups in that field of work.
Sirah Haq is a London based script consultant, screenwriter and creative producer who has worked on feature film projects in Australia, Britain and Pakistan. She specialised in Script Development for Features from the prestigious National Film and Television School, London and also holds a BA (Hons) in Film from Brunel University, London and a Masters in English Literature from Kinnaird College, Lahore. Her most recent feature as script consultant: British Indie horror ‘Nefarious’ (UK, 2019) has been making waves on the international film festival circuit and she is currently in development with three of her own features as screenwriter and producer. She has worked in TV development in Pakistan for many years and has taught screenwriting at SZABIST and Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Karachi.
“Excited to be part of a festival that puts women at the forefront and encourages dialogue on inclusivity in the arts,” said Sirah Haq.
Partners of the event include Zubaan Books, Seagull Books, Zuka Books, Neem Tree Press, Yoda Press and Readomania. More partners and collaborators will be announced soon.