Vaishnavi Sundar

But What Was She Wearing?

Vaishnavi Sundar

In 1992, Bhanwari Devi, an Indian social worker hailing from the Kumhar caste in rural Rajasthan, was gang-raped by upper caste men for having the temerity to intervene and stop the child-marriage of an infant. The subsequent acquittal of the accused in connivance with the state machinery outraged India and galvanized women’s activism that led to the Vishaka Guidelines, and subsequently the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act in 2013. This documentary juxtaposes the law on paper with the ground realities, through a first-of-its-kind log of stories and experiences of over two dozen Indian women; tales of sexual violence that they face - from opulent corporate offices, to construction sites and manual scavenging - and their fight for justice against an obstinate patriarchal state. ‘But What Was She Wearing?’ attempts to portray the impotence of this paper-law and the impossible odds Indian women are up against in pursuit of justice.

Dysphoric: Fleeing Womanhood Like a House on Fire

Vaishnavi Sundar

David Bell, Jennifer Bilek

‘Dysphoric’ is a documentary on the rise of Gender Identity Ideology and its effects on women and girls - especially in developing countries. The film explores gender transition, the permanent medical side-effects of hormones and surgeries, the propaganda by 'woke' corporations that glorifies thousands of stereotypical gender presentations coalesced as fashion, a surge in pronoun policing, language hijacking that calls women ‘menstruators’, and the many hurdles women face while trying to question this modern-day misogyny. The film amplifies the voices of detransitioners, clinicians, psychiatrists, sociologists, feminists, academics and concerned citizens.

Pava

Vaishnavi Sundar

A portrayal of the metamorphosis of a relationship between a young girl and a barber. Appealing to the sensibilities and memories of growing up, we see how certain moments mark the crescendo of a relationship - not as an end, but as a portrait that will remain etched in the memory forever.

Unearthing the Treasures of Ariyalur

Vaishnavi Sundar

Vaishnavi Sundar

How would one travel time, traverse a chasm spanning millions of years to stare into the past? In the little town of Ariyalur, you can do the impossible. Standing in the midst of a mass grave of prehistoric ocean life, one gets a glimpse of mother earth in her Cretaceous prime and comes face to face with a physical incarnation of time and life of the planet.