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Daastaan-e-rafoo at the 19th Asian Women’s Film Festival


  • India International centre 40 Max Mueller Marg New Delhi, DL, 110003 India (map)

To Mark International Women’s Day 2024

Daastaan-e-rafoo: Stories in stitches -an exhibition of embroidered works created by women of Rafooghar رفو گھر – The House that mends will be on display at The 19th IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival: 7 to 9 March 2024

Inaugration of exhibition on the 7th of March | 1:15 pm by Ms. Laila Tyabji

On view in the Foyer outside the C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium, India International Centre, New Delhi

About the Film Festival

The 19th edition of the festival brings together a collection of over 60 films from across 20 countries, directed by women filmmakers of Asian origin. The festival showcases feature films, documentaries, short fiction, animation, student films and experimental work and a focus on short fiction films from Iran. The festival includes a homage to Chandita Mukherjee with a screening of her film “Totanama” (32 min/1991).

Organised in collaboration with International Association of Women in Radio &Television, Chapter India; Embassy of France; Alliance Française, New Delhi; Institute Français; Breakthrough; Delhi Tourism; Max Mueller Bhavan-Goethe Institut; INKO Centre, Chennai; Kerala Travels; and Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation

Screenings will be held in the Auditorium on 7, 8 and 9 March 2024 from 09:30 onwards. Some of the filmmakers will be present for post-screening discussions

You can see the Film Schedule here

The Love Lihaaf Baithak

A collective stitching experience – join the women of Rafooghar to add stitches to the work-in-process quilt.

On display: process photographs, embroidered hoops, bags and story cloths.

The baithak will be in the Quadrangle Garden , India International Centre, New Delhi

The event is Open for all

India International Centre: 40, Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Gardens, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi, Delhi 110003

About Rafooghar

Rafooghar -رفو گھر - The House that mends is a community space in New Delhi where women, who live on the margins and have faced discrimination and social exclusion for years, gather and find space and time for sukoon (peace) and fursat (leisure).

Here, embroidery, a familiar medium, often dismissed as a trivial pursuit - is used to delve deeper into the themes of identity, agency, and mobility and demonstrate its power as a form of therapy, creative expression and empowerment. In the context of mental health, the act of stitching serves as a therapeutic outlet for participants, allowing them to channel their emotions, reduce stress, mend and heal not just fabrics but also emotions, thoughts, and relationships.