Srinagar
Documentary filmmaker Bilal A Jan’s Daughters of Paradise is selected for the short documentary competition section of the 11th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala. The Festival will be held between 20 and 24 July 2018, at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
The 38-minute long documentary Daughters of Paradise talks about the sensitive issue of dowry in a conservative society like Kashmir. Written and directed by Bilal, the film follows four women and their individual stories of pain and suffering at the hands of their in-laws. Apart from the issue of dowry, Bilal’s film also talks about violence against women in Kashmir. Given limited resources, it took Bilal one year to complete this film.
In 2008, Bilal’s documentary film “The Lost Childhood” (in the Kashmiri language) was selected for Tehran International Short Film Festival in the competition section and the 10th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF). In 2010, the film won Bilal, Nina Sugati SR Award for “Best Director” in conceptual art in cinema.
Bilal has worked with Shyam Benegal and Vidhu Vinod Chopra in their films, including Mission Kashmir, Netaji, and the Forgotten Hero.
