NEW DELHI: The two-day IAWRT Asian Women's Film Festival was inaugurated by renowned litterateur Kapila Vatsayayan on Friday in New Delhi.

Chairperson of the India International Centre Asia Project Dr Vatsayayan said, "The documentary format particularly has the ripeness to highlight various important issues as it has the capacity to cheer and to disturb."

Adding to this film critic and historian Aruna Vasudev, founder president of the Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC), stressed the power of cinema to inspire people to make a change in society during the event.

IAWRT, which has been organizing this festival for the past four years, announced that it is presently concentrating on two projects, 'Violence and Women' and 'Trafficking in women in Bangladesh'.

Managing Trustee of IAWRT Jai Chandiram said, "The aim is to celebrate the vision of women through cinema to say something about self, politics, religion, family, and culture. Thus, the festival is covering an entire range of genres."

The inauguration was followed by the screening of the films 'Everyday' by Anupama Srinivasan, and 'Manpasand: the Perfect Match' by Dhvani Desai.

The festival is showcasing documentary films created by women, covering a range of genres and expressive styles.

Around 25 films from five countries are to be screened in the festival. It is being held in collaboration with the IIC Asia Project and UNESCO on the theme 'Insights and Aspirations'. They include short and full-length and animation films from Australia, Japan, Pakistan, and the United States besides India. IIC Asia-project and IAWRT will use this forum for short films dedicated to genres across animation, fiction and documentary film.

Panel discussions to be held along with the festival will examine whether women are creating a new language of filmmaking, which reflects, and explores new politics of filmmaking, and how women are widening the frame for issues concerning women.