'With You, Without You' wins Best Actress award at the International Film Festival of India

Actress Anjali Patil won the best actress award at the prestigious 43rd Indian International Film Festival for her role in ‘Oba Nethuwa Oba Ekka’ (With You, Without You) directed by Prasanna Vithanage. The film, supported by Partners for Prevention along with IPPF, Aakar and CARE International, is the first in the Let's Talk Men (LTM) 2.0 film series, which aims to prevent gender-based violence in South Asia through raising awareness on the consequences of gender socialization and providing options for more equitable and non-violent practices. With a focus on masculinities, the project aims to engage more young men as partners with women in ending violence. “The film has been doing the rounds of festivals across the globe and screening to full houses. All three shows at the recently held London International Film Festival have been sold out,” said Rahul Roy, the LTM filmmaker in India, and Director of Aakar, a Delhi-based trust that works in the area of media, culture and research. “This is the first time in Sinhala cinema’s 65-year history that an overseas actress has been awarded an international award in the best actress category in a Sinhala movie,” Prasanna told the Daily Mirror. ‘With You, Without You’ is inspired by Dostoyevsky’s short story, The Meek One. Prasanna Vithanage’s adaptation is a probe into masculinity that unfolds through a dramatic confrontation in the relationship between a Sinhalese man and a Tamil woman. In addition to ‘With You, Without You’, from Sri Lanka, the Let’s Talk Men 2.0 series of films on masculinities include films from India and Pakistan, currently under production and set to launch in early 2013. LTM 2.0 builds on the original Let’s Talk Men series, which was highly successful as a means of drawing in boys and men into discussions on gender. By the end of 2013, 5,000 Let’s Talk Men 2.0 (LTM) Packages, which will include a discussion guide, training tools and resources, and assessment tools, will be disseminated across Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Gender practitioners, civil society organizations, educational institutions and other groups will be equipped to use the packages to ensure a wide outreach and effective engagement with young people in the region. For further information, contact [email protected] or see http://withyouwithoutyou.com