UN in India launches partnership with International Purple Fest at We Care Film Festival

Films tell stories – stories of joy and sorrow, of love and pain, of triumphs and losses. Vibrant stories of lives and aspirations of persons with disabilities unfolded as United Nations in India hosted the We Care Film Festival on 14-15 May 2025. Organized in partnership with UNESCO India, Brotherhood and Apeejay Institute of Communication, the festival enthralled audiences with moving stories from across the globe.

More than 250 people, including school students, young people, civil society representatives, and persons with disabilities (PwDs), attended four rounds of screenings of select films received as entries to the We Care Film Festival. 

We Care has been an endeavour of Brotherhood and the UN Information Centre for India and Bhutan for the last 20 years portraying the aspirations, experiences, challenges, and victories of persons with disabilities. 

In its 20th edition, We Care received more than 200 film entries from Iran, Russia, Argentina, Israel, Poland, and many other countries. After an intensive shortlisting and jury process, 10 films were selected for the We Care awards under three categories.

In a ceremony on 15 May at the UN Office, directors and cast members of the selected films received Awards and Certificates from Mr. Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator in India, Dr. Mallika Nadda, President, Special Olympics Bharat and Chairperson, Asia Pacific Advisory Council, Mr. Guruprasad Pawaskar, Goa Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities and Mr Satish Kapoor, Founding Director, Brotherhood and We Care Film Festival. 

The head of the jury, Ms Sminu Jindal, managing director of Jindal SAW Limited and Founder-Chairperson of Svayam, delivered her report on the film festival and the film entries received.    

Full list of winners:
Category: Up to 10 minutes

Paper God, Islamic Republic of Iran, Director: Daniyal Mahmoudnia

Life of a Kitten with a Tracheostomy, Russian Federation, Director: Maria Saveleva

Strong, Russian Federation, Director: Elena Kotova

Category: Up to 30 minutes

Looking Inward, Russian Federation, Director: Anna Veselova

Sarnevesht, Iran, Director: Yaser Talebi

The Children of Sally Bein, Germany, Israel, Director: Dan Wolman

Jury mention: Diagnosis: Winner, Russian Federation, Director: Irina Annenkova

Category: 120 minutes and above

Roman Kostomarov: Born Twice, Russian Federation, Director: Mikhail Shchedrinsky

Small World Cup, Argentina, Director: Marcel Czombos

Srikanth, India, Director: Tushar Hirnandani

Rabb Di Awaaz, India, Director: Ojaswwee Sharma

 

Partnership to promote inclusion for all 

Mr Pawaskar launched a landmark collaboration with United Nations in India to embed international best practices and align the International Purple Festival’s vision with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)’s core principles of non-discrimination, full and effective participation, accessibility, and equality of opportunity.

“Purple Fest has grown from being a state initiative to an international movement and with the United Nations, it now achieves a global platform. This year, we are focused on promoting practical, scalable solutions rooted in universal design that can be adapted by institutions and communities worldwide,” Mr Pawaskar said launching the partnership. 

Mr Pawaskar also announced the next edition of We Care Film Festival that will travel to the International Purple Fest Goa. Speaking at the award ceremony, Mr Sharp congratulated the filmmakers on the awards and in helping shape the narratives on disability. 

“We Care Film Festival is a platform that has led the way in amplifying the voices of PwDs through the power of cinema. Congratulations to all the filmmakers and partners whose commitment makes this space so vibrant, urgent, and necessary. Your films remind us that representation is not just about visibility — it is about dignity, equity, and justice,” Mr Sharp said. 

 

Conversation on disability in cinema

The Festival also hosted two panel discussions to promote dialogue and awareness on disability. 

On day one, panelist Mr Nipun Malhotra, a disability rights activist, spoke on the portrayal of PwDs in films and television and pointed that the perception of disability was dependent on the situation and that all people were differently-abled.

On day two, Joyce Poan, Chief of Education at UNESCO moderated a dialogue between Tushar Hiranandani, director of Srikanth, Ojaswwee Sharma, director of Rabb Di Awaaz and Nidhi Goyal, founder Rising Flame.

“While making Srikanth, I learned about life of persons with disabilities. They don’t need our sympathy, they want to be treated equal. Films on PwDs should be entertaining so that people can laugh with the disabled characters and get the message too,” Mr Hiranandani said responding to a question on his film Srikanth. 

Mr Sharma emphasized on the importance of authenticity and inclusivity in making films on PwDs. “We wanted authentic representation from very first day of making Rabb Di Awaaz. Shiv, the visually disabled person, plays himself in the film. We made sure everything was accessible from the very start. Shiv was given the script in braille,” he said.  

 Nidhi, a gender and disability rights activist, also a stand-up comedian, talked being labelled as disabled. Nidhi said, “It is not a fun label to have. Films on PwDs help to shift away from these labels, only if they have mainstream representation. The success will be when the story of love, attraction and misery is filmed on a PwD. Film fraternity must come on board and be committed, championing the cause, so that we can say we care.”