Anita, a young Indian woman who is about to get a job in the US, visits India with her husband for her sister's wedding. She tries to tell her family the good news with her husband's help. However, her family is delighted to assume that Anita is pregnant. For this conservative family who values customs, women's employment is not very welcomed. Anita's husband, who thought he was supportive and respectful of her, also takes a suspicious attitude. ///Anita/// is set in Indian society, where the discriminatory gaze on women is also evident inside the family. Of course, this situation is just a matter of gravity and not exclusive to only Indian society. The film takes a step further in criticism of negative views on women's social advancement. Her husband gets swept away by the atmosphere of her family and the events that happen because that creates another point of controversy that is tabooed in ///Anita///.

2021 Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films
2020 Venice Film Festival

Sushma KHADEPAUN

Sushma is a writer/director based in New York. Her latest short film ///Anita/// had its world premiere in Venice's Orizzonti 2020. She is the first Indian female director who has been in competition in Venice since 2000. Her previous short film, ///Foren///, had its world premiere at the Palm Springs International ShortFest in 2017.