Leena Manimekalai is an Indian

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and an

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. Her works include five published poetry anthologies and several films in genres, documentary, fiction and experimental poem films. She has been recognised with participation, mentions and best film awards in many international and national film festivals.

Films and activism

After a brief period as an assistant director with mainstream filmmakers and an intensive experience as a Television Producer and Anchor, she debuted in 2002 with the short documentary film ''Mathamma''. The 20-minute-long docu-fiction is about devoting girl children to the deity, a practice prevalent among the Arundhatiyar community in Mangattucheri village near Arakkonam, Chennai. Her other films too deal with the issues of the marginalised. ''Parai'' is a film on violence against

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

women. She went on the road with her films across hundreds of villages serving her videos a tool for participatory dialogue with the masses on compelling issues. ''Break the Shackles'' is about the effects of

globalisation Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

on rural Tamil villages. ''Waves After Waves'' explores how art rejuvenates the lives of children, devastated by the 2004 tsunami at the coastal villages of Tamil Nadu. Leena was inspired to do this project while she was serving as a volunteer in tsunami-hit regions of Tamil Nadu doing art therapy workshops for children. ''Altar'' is a documentary intervention on child marriage customs prevailing in the Kambalathu Naicker community in the central parts of Tamil Nadu. ''A Hole in the Bucket'' takes a look at the dynamics of water crisis in the city of Chennai in the context of families with different income levels. Manimekalai has expressed opposition to censorship in Indian cinema: "CBFC is an archaic institution and it has to go. It is as simple as that. It is such a sore in the skin of democracy. I do not know when filmmakers will realise the very existence of CBFC is an insult to our sensibilities and collectively come together to bring it down. The 1952 Cinematograph Act has to be challenged if we think we are not stupid." Manimekalai's first feature film '' Sengadal'' completed production in 2011. Manimekalai's '' White Van Stories'' is a 70-minute documentary feature on enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka.

Personal life

Manimekalai is

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

and came out in her second poetry collection, Ulagin Azhagiya Muthal Penn (The Most Beautiful First Woman in the World).

Support for LGBT and Pride march

Leena Manimekalai along with Anjali Gopalan supported the Asia's first

Genderqueer Non-binary or genderqueer gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gender that is differ ...

Pride Parade organised by

Gopi Shankar Madurai Gopi Shankar Madurai (born 13 April 1991) is an Indian equal rights and Indigenous rights activist. Shankar was one of the youngest, and the first openly intersex and genderqueer statutory authority and one of the candidates to contest in 2016 ...

of Srishti Madurai in July 2012. Leena is the author of ''Antharakanni'', the first poetry collection in Tamil on lesbian love. Springing from Tamil folklore, her twilight poems are enchanting with lesbian sensuality. Along with her poems, it has free hand translations of "balaclave" poems of

Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Feminism in Russia, Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in the fall of 2011 by the th ...

, the feminist punk band of Russia whose rioters are right now in prison on 'sedition' charges which adds a guerrilla status to the anthology. A Tamil version of openly bisexual Afro American poet

June Jordan June Millicent Jordan (July 9, 1936 – June 14, 2002) was an American poet, essayist, teacher, and activist. In her writing she explored issues of gender, race, immigration, and representation. Jordan was passionate about using Black English ...

's cult verse 'About my rights' is another highlight of ''Antharakanni''. In 2016, she directed a documentary about the troubles faced by two transgender women while they look for a rental apartment in Chennai and the obstacles. It is titled "IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK?" and was first screened on 21 November 2016, and later many other film festivals all over the world.

Filmography

Director

Actor

Publications

Poem collections

Awards and achievements

* 2004: Retro – Ethnographic Montages, Chicago Women in Director's Chair International Film Festival * 2004: Silver Trophy for the Best Documentary in Europe Movies Film Festival * 2005: Best Actor and Best Experimental Video in Independent Art Film Festival * 2005: Best Documentary in Paris and Norway Independent Diaspora Festivals * 2005: European Union Fellowship for Conflict Resolution in Media * 2005: Retrospective, International Democratic Socialist Youth Film Festival, Venezuela * 2006: International Jury in Asian Film Festival, Malaysia * 2007: Jury Award for Best Cinema of Resistance –

John Abraham John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Known for his stoic action hero persona, he is a recipient of a National Film Award along with nominations for four Filmfare Awards. Abraham ha ...

National Award * 2008: Golden Conch for Best International Documentary in

Mumbai International Film Festival The Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (MIFF) is a festival organized in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) by the Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Infor ...

* 2008: Visiting Scholar Fellowship, Berlinale * 2008: Nomination to Horizon Award, Munich International Film Festival * 2008: Nomination – Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Brisbane * 2008: One Billion Eyes National Award – Best Documentary * 2008:

Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international programme under which Commonwealth governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. History The plan was originally proposed ...

, Birds Eye View Film Festival, London * 2008: Iyal Best Poetry Award from The Tamil Literary Garden for ''Ulakin Azhakiya Muthal Penn'' * 2011: Sirpi Literary Award for the contribution to Tamil Poetry * 2011: Indian Panorama Selections for Sengadal * 2011: NAWFF Award for Best Asian Women Cinema (Tokyo) – Sengadal * 2012: As Jury, International Women Film Festival, Seoul. * 2013: Lenin Award from Thamizh Studio (instituted in the name of film editor B. Lenin) who highlights social issues. * 2014: Srishti Tamil

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

for her book "Antharakanni" conferred by Bracha Ettinger and Anjali Gopalan Advisory Board of Srishti Madurai * 2015: L’Oreal Paris Femina Women Awards 2015

Row over Kaali poster

Leena Manimekalai was on the receiving end of significant backlash and threats of violence after posting an image of the Hindu goddess Kaali as a poster for her documentary film ''Kaali'' on her twitter account. The image contained a picture of Manimekalai in costume as the goddess Kali smoking a cigarette with the rainbow gay pride flag. Canada’s

Aga Khan Museum The Aga Khan Museum is a museum of Islamic art located at 77 Wynford Drive in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is dedicated to Islamic art and objects, and it houses approximately 1,200 rare objects assembled by Sh ...

, where the film had been presented once on 2 July, issued a statement expressing regret that the tweet "inadvertently caused offence".

References

Sources

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External links

*
Leena Manimekalai's official blog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manimekalai, Leena Living people Indian LGBTQ rights activists Indian documentary filmmakers Film directors from Chennai Indian women film directors 21st-century Indian women artists Women artists from Tamil Nadu Women writers from Tamil Nadu Poets from Tamil Nadu 21st-century Indian poets Indian women poets Indian Tamil people Screenwriters from Chennai Indian women screenwriters Film producers from Chennai Indian women documentary filmmakers 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian screenwriters Year of birth missing (living people)