NHRC, India presents awards to the seven winners of its short films on Human Rights competition in 2023

Press Release

National Human Rights Commission

New Delhi, 21th March, 2024

NHRC, India presents awards to the seven winners of its short films on Human Rights competition in 2023

NHRC, India Chairperson, Justice Shri Arun Mishra describes films as a very potent and effective means of bringing change in society

Short films are a very effective tool in carrying impactful messages concisely in a limited time

The increasing number of entries in the NHRC short film competition since 2015 indicates growing human rights awareness

Justice Shri Arun Mishra, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, India, today said that we must empathize with the sufferers and the films are very potent and effective means of capturing emotions facing humanity and make feel the pain in the life of the people to bring about the desired change in society. These days people do not have much time, therefore, Short films become a very effective tool for carrying impactful messages concisely in a limited time which is challenging. The shorter the better to covey a deep-rooted message to serve the purpose of social change by triggering a discourse in society. He said that realizing this potential of short films and to encourage people from all walks of life, the Commission opened a platform through a competition for short films on human rights in 2015.

Justice Mishra was addressing a function organized to present awards to the seven winners of the short film competition of the Commission in the presence of Members, Dr. Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay, Shri Rajiv Jain and Smt Vijaya Bharathi Sayani, Secretary General, Shri Bharat Lal, Director General (Investigation), Shri Ajay Bhatnagar, Registrar (Law), Shri Surajit Dey, Joint Secretaries, Smt. Anita Sinha, Shri Devendra Kumar Nim and external jury member, Smt. Rachna Sharma. Congratulating the winners, he said that their films highlight their intent to change the mindsets necessary for removing barriers to socio-economic development in society. The awarded films have touched on different subjects including the challenges in the realization of the rights of Transgenders, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes, children, and women.

Earlier, NHRC, India Member, Dr. Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay announcing the names of the winners said that over the years the NHRC short film competition has gained a lot of significance as each year the quality of film has been improving. This also underscores the fact that people’s awareness of human rights and the need to sensitize others about them has been increasing. This competition serves the purpose of a bridge between the NHRC and the youth of the country to spread awareness about human rights by making very effective films about various aspects impacting the life and dignity of humans.

NHRC, India Secretary General, Shri Bharat Lal in his opening remarks gave an overview of the short film competition of the NHRC, which started in 2015 and that over the years the number of films in the competition has increased. He said that 139 entries were received in the 2023 competition. After initial scrutiny 118 went into the fray for the awards decided by a Jury chaired by the NHRC Chairperson comprising Members, senior officers and external experts.

Every film carried some meaning related to human rights and it was challenging to choose the best among them for the awards. He said that these films must reach the masses. He expressed hope that in the coming years, the number of quality films will further increase.

Shri Bhushan Arun Mehare’s film, ‘Kiran-A Ray of Hope’ was awarded the first prize of Rs 2 lakh, a trophy and a certificate. The film highlights and raises concerns on LGBTQI+ rights, including among others, the right to equal opportunities with dignity to earn a livelihood. It is in Hindi and English with subtitles in English.

The second prize of Rs. 1.5 lakh, a trophy and a certificate were given to Shri Bibhujjal Raj Kashyap for his film ‘Mukhagni- The Cremation’ in the Assamese language. Inspired by a true story, the film raises various issues including untouchability, caste discrimination, social dogmas, overbearing diktat of caste panchayat, and the right of dignity to the dead.

The third prize of Rs 1 lakh, a trophy and a certificate was given to Shri Nitin Sonkar for his film ‘Right to Freedom’ in Hindi language. The film symbolically advocates equal opportunities for the children of slum dwellers and highlights that there should be no cap on dreaming and achieving big in life through the story of a young boy living in a slum.

The four films were awarded 'Certificate of Special Mention' with Rs 50,000 each. These included Ms Abdullah Alfazeena’s ‘Glass of Humanity’, Smt. Supriti Ghosh’s Harassment of Deepshikha', Shri M. Baskar’s ‘Naragam – Hell’ and Shri Rashid Usman Nimbalkar’s ' RAHAS'. The award-winning films are uploaded on the NHRC website so that these can be used as an open source for creating awareness about human rights and sensibilities.

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