Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) was honoured with the ‘Spirit Of Empowerment’ award at the CNN-News18 Indian Of The Year 2024. The advocacy group working for women in the Malayalam cinema industry was recognized and celebrated at the prestigious award ceremony. WCC members and actors Padmapriya Janakiraman and Rima Kallingal received the award, and delivered a powerful speech at the award ceremony.
In her speech, Rima Kallingal said, “It takes a lot to bring the world to a halt these days. We are all so busy, life easily becomes a blur. But every so often, someone, something comes along and interrupts the hectic cycle. From the Women’s Suffrage movement in the US in the 1800s and feminism’s second wave in the 1970s to the Women In Cinema Collective in 2017 and the MeToo Movement, the words and actions of women have transformed opinions, broken boundaries and kept choosing to challenge.”
Actor Padmapriya added, “It is a great pleasure for us at the WCC to receive this award today. WCC is Kerala’s quest for gender equality with centuries of communism, education, migration and trade relations and unions couldn’t give. To us, who continue to pioneer gender equality in cinema, this award means the recognition of 8 years of unwavering commitment to doing something and achieving something amongst innumerable obstacles including losing our jobs.”
Padmapriya and Rima Kallingal then highlighted the changes that the WCC brought about: “Changing the narrative of women’s issues in cinema, from being scandals and controversies to real issues. From victims to survivors and making gender a concern for mainstream media. Making the government commission the Justice Hema Committee report and then putting pressure to release it. Allocating government funds for female directors. Screening films made and led by women,” among many more achievements.
About CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2024
The CNN-News18 Indian of the Year award ceremony was held in New Delhi on Friday evening. First introduced in 2006, the award has earned a reputation as a significant event in news television, honouring excellence displayed by the nation’s best in their respective fields. Previous winners include Shah Rukh Khan, Virat Kohli, A.R. Rahman, and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), to name a few. The event recognizes outstanding achievements across six diverse categories: Entertainment, Business, Sports, Youth Icon, Social Change, and Climate Warrior.
2025-01-17T14:55:26Z