Short film on child sexual abuse turns to crowdfunding

New Delhi : A short film exploring the uncomfortable subject of child sexual abuse, has turned to crowdfunding to raise an amount of Rs 3.5 lakhs for its completion.

Titled, "Maun", the film is based on the findings of a survey that revealed that one in every two children is a victim of child sexual abuse, and that one in four families do not come forward to report the abuse.The film tells the story of one such family.

The lives of Mohan, Meera and their 10-year-old daughter Shreya are devastated when the parents learn that their child has been molested by the neighbor's son."How they deal with the situation is what will define the rest of their lives," Priyanka Singh, director of the film, said.

According to her, the reason why the magnitude of sexual violence against children remains unknown in India is because it is a taboo to even speak of such issues. It is always hushed up due to the fear of being ostracized by the society.The film seeks to question people's thinking and show them how societal pressure clouds their judgment and influences their decisions.

"We want to bring this taboo out in the open and make audiences empathize with this widespread reality," she added.Maun's uniqueness lies in its perspective. The outburst of a grown up who had faced sexual abuse during childhood has inspired several films.This film also deals with the dilemma of the parents."The idea is to involve the viewer, to make them decide," Singh said.

As a filmmaker, she wants the viewers to take a "definite" call, but insists that it must come naturally to them."We do not want tell people what is right and what is wrong, we want them to feel it themselves as they watch the film," the director said.Talking about why she went for crowdfunding, Singh said that she wanted to involve the community.

"The message we're trying to send through our film can only make a difference in the true sense if the community comes together to make a change," she said. The crowdfunding campaign on Wishberry has already helped the crew raise Rs 2,05,651, and they hope to reach the target in the remaining 17 days.