Tied in a Knot – discussion with the director

Toronto — 21 September 2013.

Tied in a Knot: Narratives from Bride Seeking Regions of India examines the newly emergent phenomenon of bride buying and commoditization of the female body in India, and the attendant gender based violence that the sourced, bought, or trafficked brides undergo in their marital homes. Years of repressive social morés that promoted girl dispreference is now seeing men from these regions breach customary rules and travel to distant poorer regions of India to find wives. This one hour film was two years in making, while Director Reena Kukreja travelled to 226 villages in both the source and receiving regions of India, interviewing brides, their parents, husbands, conjugal family members and villagers. This internationally acclaimed documentary demonstrates how the intersection of patriarchy and poverty with the current regime of neoliberalism in India have created an oppressive environment for poor rural women.

Reena Kukreja is a feminist activist and an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker of over 50 productions. With over twenty years experience, Reena has produced documentaries and conducted research on women’s issues, child labour and environmental pollution. Reena divides her time between India and Canada, doing filmmaking, research and teaching in the Departments of Film and Media Studies, and Gender Studies, at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.

Trailer | www.tamarindtreefilms.com | Film poster.

Organized by the Education Committee of the Greater Toronto Workers’ Assembly, co-sponsored by Centre for Feminist Research, York University.