Film Festival at Tadiwala Road

On Friday 17th April Wake Up Pune hosted a film festival at the Deep Griha Centre on Tadiwala Road in order to document and expend awareness of HIV and AIDS in the community.   The festival attracted a crowd of around forty men, women and children who gathered to watch both My Brother Nikhil and Ek Alag Mausaum (shown in Hindi and Marathi).

My Brother Nikhil, notable for being the first mainstream Indian film in which the protagonist is homosexual, was a resounding success.   Set in Goa during the years 1989 to 1994 it focuses on the human impact of stigma and discrimination and the importance of acceptance and understanding when responding to and dealing with HIV.
Ek Alag Mausaum centres on the life of Aparna Verma, a pregnant woman who contracts HIV from her travelling salesman husband.   The film documents her life and the subsequent decisions she has to make.
The film festival offered a simple yet effective medium through which Wake Up Pune could further expand its aim of waking Pune up to the reality of HIV and the lives of those it touches.   The films allowed the audience to witness the potential isolation and suffering that can result from stigma and discrimination and the importance of waking up and making a difference.