Notes on Marital Violence

An intimate, intense, portrait of the shadow cast by marital violence, through complicated personal stories of the film maker's mother, and her own marriage. A male friend, struggling with anger issues, who also grew up in a violent environment, opens up about the incident that ended his first marriage. As do other women, from varied backgrounds and ages, at different stages of dealing with marital violence, yet with many threads in common. A nuanced, insightful look at the roots of violence, the perpetuating cycles, their impact, and the structures of society that support violence and make it so difficult for many women to escape abuse in marriages.

  • Bindu Nair
    Director
    Beyond Women's Stereotypes
  • Rajiv Mehrotra
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    57 hours 36 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 12, 2019
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    English, Marathi
  • Shooting Format:
    Full HD
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Bindu Nair

Bindu Nair is a cinematographer, writer, director, based out of Pune, India. A graduate of the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India, her diploma film won two National Awards and was in competition at Busan International film festival, among other festivals. She has made short films, and documentaries that explore the issues of gender, media representations, and human rights, some of which were broadcast, and also selected for several national and international film festivals. Notes on Marital Violence, 57.36 min, is her first documentary feature.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This is my first feature length film, and the most personal and challenging one I have made. It grapples with the most difficult part of my childhood- the violence and conflict in my parents' marriage, which cast a long shadow on my own marriage, and to speak about my father in ways that he is no longer alive to defend. In addition, while, making the film, with my husband, who had a similar childhood, and my children, allowed me to engage with the issues in my own marriage, it also unfortunately, triggered some of it, all at a difficult time of our lives, while my husband was in remission. Interviews with several survivors of violence were an eye opener to the roots of violence, it's perpetuating cycles, and the many similarities we shared, in turn, impacting my marriage and life. My husband passed away from cancer during the making the film, and I had to edit the film while mourning him. This film forced us to look at the wounds in our marriage, opened some of them, but also healed us in some ways, to shine a light on an issue, which, though rampant, is often hidden or unacknowledged.