Kerala-based WCC launches PK Rosy Film Society to celebrate women filmmakers, feminist cinema aesthetics

Kerala’s Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) is set to launch a film society named after PK Rosy, the first woman actor of Malayalam cinema. According to a report in The Hindu, the WCC said in a statement that the society has been created in the name of the actress in order to take note of those who have been excluded from dominant cinema histories through their gender, caste, religious or class locations and our own imagination and have been brought to light by many a scholar, historian and activist.

Rosy, belonging to the Dalit community, was severely criticised and ultimately forced to leave the region following her appearance in the first-ever Malayalam feature film to have been produced, the 1928 silent movie, Vigathakumaram. Directed by CJ Daniel, Rosy essayed the role of a Nair woman named Sarojini, in the film. While the actress was an established artist in the Tamil Dalit theatre, Kaakarashi, it has been suggested that she was persecuted by the upper classes for portraying a Nair woman in Vigathakumaram, a report in the Times of India said. WCC, a group of filmmakers, technicians and actors that aims to showcase and discuss women filmmakers, said in their statement, “Our logo invokes Rosy visually and has been designed by the Mumbai-based designer Zoya Riyas. The PK Rosy Film Society is an endeavour from our side to establish a viewing space for cinema, which has often been an all-male space. Headed and run by an all ciswomen/transwomen panel, we aim at showcasing, discussing, and celebrating women filmmakers, women film professionals, and feminist cinema aesthetics.” The collective also expressed hope that the society would serve as a democratic platform that enables discussions on cinema and contributes to a discourse on contemporary cinema aesthetics, added the statement issued by WCC.