Invoking Justice
86 minutes, Tamil with English subtitles. Co-producers, ITVS, NHK, Japan, YLE 2 with support from the Jan Vrijman Foundation.

Fed up with male dominated Jamaats (Councils), where they cannot represent themselves, Muslim women in South India set up their own council in 2004. The Women’s Jamaat guides, arbitrates and decides on matters related to family law. The film Invoking Justice tells the complex story of the inspired challenge posed by the Women’s Jamaat to a corrupt judicial system. The film follows Jamaat members as they investigate cases and negotiate with families, male jamaats and the police with skill, tenacity and the courage of convictions grounded equally in faith and in a secular idea of justice.

Deepa Dhanraj is a writer, director, and producer living in Bangalore, South India. She studied English Literature in Madras University. She has produced and directed numerous award-winning documentaries, ‘Something like a War’; ‘The Legacy of Malthus’; ‘Sudesha’; ‘Nari Adalat’ and ‘What Has Happened to This City?’.The films have been screened on ARTE, CBC, and SBS. Her films have been invited to festivals such as IDFA, Berlinale, Leipzig, Oberhausen, and Films de Femmes, Creteil France, Tampere, Vancouver and Chicago. She has a special interest in education and has created special video materials to address challenges faced by first generation learners.

Friday, 30 August 2013, 3 pm
CSDS Seminar Hall