Gun and a God Synopsis
The journey of a woman whose will was forged by the structural violence of her existence and who finally finds her voice. Gun and a God was an official selection of the 2017 WVN Online Film Festival.
About the Filmmaker
Sonia Nepram was born and brought up in Manipur, a province in Northeast India, in a humble yet huge family. She completed her schooling in Imphal, the capital town of the Indian province. Then she finished her graduation in Sociology and further, a Master’s in Mass Communication from the prestigious communication university, Jamia Milia Islamia, in New Delhi.
Since then, she has been working on films on themes such as gender issues, political subjects, socially relevant themes, survival of women in a patriarchal society and against domestic violence, the negative effects of law and order, and so on.
More from the Filmmaker
Growing up in a conflict zone is all about survival – especially for women in the North-eastern state of India, Manipur. Right from my childhood, every phase of my life is embedded with a residue of armed conflict, and this is true for every woman in the Manipur society.
Our fight for freedom was established when our grandmothers fought against the artificial famine during the British colonization of India, and that struggle has carried down to my generation. We must persevere and survive against all of the violence inflicted on us, voicing out our right to life.
With time, the roles and voices of women in our society receive the recognition they deserve in media fraternities and academia. Women are cherished as guardians, protectors and the catalysts of economic activity. However, underneath this pedestal, many women remain entangled in conflicts induced by the same society that appears to praise them.
Behind these veils of glorification, prejudices against women hang in the subconscious of the masses. Women are still used by men as weapons to reinforce the patriarchal system. It is in this realm that the presence of violence is subtle, obscure, hard to portray and difficult to resist. Our society tends to draw its inspiration from a canopy of imposed morality while it lurks in an abyss of brutality.
