“Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset.”
– S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders
WHO ARE WE AND WHAT DO WE DO?
Hers is Ours (HIO) is a Collective based in India that works on the issue of Violence Against Women, and gender discrimination at large. We focus on creating awareness about healing and empowerment through art. We work on grass-root level change:
- making art projects
- raising awareness and starting dialogues
- deconstructing norms & stereotypes
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
As art and film festivals rarely reach marginalised communities, while they are the subject itself of human rights films, we are organising a travelling art & film festival and taking it to the remote areas of Uttar Pradesh & Rajasthan (India); two states where human rights violations have increased in recent years. From the 18th of October to the 18th of December 2021, we are travelling for two months by van with selected artivists (artists & activists) from all over India, with a projector, a screen and sound equipment. We are stopping in 18 cities and villages through UP, Rajasthan, and ending in Delhi. Collaborating with local organisations, we are running screenings, workshops and interactive performances around the topic of marginalisation for and with the communities.
We are stopping at a new location every 3 days & leading a minimum of four activities at each location:
- Film Screenings: 3
- Workshops: 1
- Interactive Performances: 1
- Post-screening Debates & Public Awareness Workshops: 2
The Outsider Festival carries such a name as it is brought to the stigmatised communities, the so-called ‘outsiders’, as well as it is brought by a team from outside, from many cities of India and abroad. It is essentially to remind us that one’s identity has many layers and that at a level or another we all are outsiders. This festival is a cultural avenue aiming at bringing us together around arts and politics, to celebrate our differences but also how much alike we are, and create a safe space to discuss difficult and taboo topics. Our approach is a co-learning one: we want to listen to people’s experiences, their prejudices and their inhibitions, as well as to talk about, reflect on and evolved on ours.
TARGET GROUP
During this travelling festival, our prime target group is the youth of marginalised communities, who generally don't have access to film festivals. As mentioned, we intend to reach the communities by going to their localities. It is essential for us to have people of different social and economic backgrounds gathered to question, together and as a whole, stigmatisation, and to understand it as a product of our social norms and the banalisation of exclusion. We believe the youth of marginalised communities are the future leaders of social change and that arts and interactive tools will lead: on one hand, to critical thoughts about their own condition and the one of other communities they may themselves exclude, and on the other hand, to community building, togetherness, empowerment & social change.
OUR IMPACT
Through the screenings and the different activities described above, we will use art as a medium to talk and exchange unheard, inspiring & creative stories; the aim is to touch rather than teach people. It will allow the youth of marginalised communities to connect with artists, activists and community builders to discuss the different issues they are going through and/or perpetuating. Therefore, the aim is to work towards grass-root level change hand in hand with the communities we will encounter, through:
- Denouncing and understanding marginalisation, its root causes & effects, as well as
challenging people’s prejudices and norms (e.g. questioning the prejudices towards sex
workers, sexuality and women). - Opening conversation and debates on gender, equality & inclusion, as well as rethinking the
meaning of collectivity and society. - Celebrating femininity, creativity, empathy and nurturance, as a tool towards de facto equality
(e.g. jamming with local musicians of different religions, castes and genders).
WHAT ARE WE CROWDFUNDING FOR?
The Outsider Moving Art & Film Festival is a project by HIO, funded by grants from Movies that Matter & the Embassy of the Netherlands in India. These grants cover the production cost of our travelling festival, to get our van & equipment running. However, we are still in need of funds to cover the art material required for our workshops, pay the honorariums to our core team & our selected activists joining from all over India, return tickets for them to join us on the way, as well as pre & post-production cost.
Our overall budget is of 25470 EUR, and we are crowdfunding for the remaining 8670 EUR.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
When you donate to this project, as a reward you get to watch a special selection of our films online. You simply have to donate to our project through this platform of the amount which makes you feel comfortable, select the number of films you wish to watch as rewards, and we will send you links to watch our films online from the comfort of your home, on your own time!
Your support can also take the form of spreading the word, sharing this crowdfunding campaign, or opening a conversation on gender equality!
From the 18th of Oct. to the 18th of Dec. 2021, we are on the road, running our festival on the ground, which you can take part of at our different locations if you are around. Check our locations:
Agra (18-20th Oct) – Bayana (21-23rd Oct) – Jaipur (25-27th Oct) – Naraina (28-30th Oct) – Jodhpur (1-3rd Nov) – Setrawa (4-6th Nov) – Jaisalmer (8-10th Nov) – Moolsagar (11-13th Nov) – Baiya (15-17th Nov) – Barmer (18-20th Nov) – Spontaneous stop (22-24th Nov) – Udaipur (25-27th Nov) – Spontaneous stop (29 Nov-1st Dec) – Kota (2-4th Dec) – Spontaneous stop (6-8th Dec) – Faridabad (13-15th Dec) – Delhi (16-18th Dec)
And if you are curious or interested in getting involved, feel free to contact us via [email protected]
Follow our project on social media:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hers.is.ours (don't miss our daily live updates from our festival on our Instagram page!)
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hers.is.ours
- YouTube: Hers is Ours - YouTube