The fourth edition of Ananke’s Women in Literature Festival will showcase celebrated screenwriter Sonia Bahl among its distinguished list of speakers. With the theme, Language and Erasure, the three-day, digital event will be live-streamed on Ananke’s Facebook page (@FB handle: @anankemag). AnankeWLF2024 envision to create a safe, inclusive space for dialogue through engaging conversations amongst visionaries, thought leaders as well as comments from the viewers.
Sonia spent twelve years in advertising writing 30-second commercials—for everything from candy to condoms—while dreaming of turning them into 2-hour movies. As Executive Creative Director at McCann-Erickson, she decided to throw caution and her job to the winds to embrace full-time screenwriting. Her first gig landed her as a finalist at MAISHA, Mira Nair’s famed screenwriting lab. Sonia has co-written the screenplay for Noblemen—presently on Netflix—a dark adaptation of The Merchant of Venice set in a boys’ boarding school and the screenplay for the soon to be released dysfunctional family drama Sitara. Sonia has also written two novels The Spectacular Miss and A Year of Wednesdays. RSVP Studios optioned The Spectacular Miss and in a perfect plot twist commissioned Sonia to write the screenplay. Sonia is presently developing a fantasy series for an Indian production house and has completed her third novel. Born in India, Sonia has spent most of her life living and working abroad—Jakarta, Miami, Brussels, London, Johannesburg and Singapore. Sonia now lives, writes, and re-writes in Singapore.
“I’m thrilled to be participating in Ananke’s Women in Literature Festival, 2024. The theme could not be more relevant and timely: pushing past division, de-sensitization, and lack of compassion to initiate conversations that give rise to positive narratives,” commented Sonia.
Ananke’s Women in Literature Festival 2024 aims to mobilize change by initiating conversations and dialogue across language, politics and socio-cultural boundaries. Over the past decade, humanity has seen the world grapple with increasing division, de-sensitization, and lack of compassion. Traditional and new media has played a pivotal role in amplifying such polarization through its use of propaganda, warped and divisive optics, and manipulative messaging.
At Ananke and by extension the Women in Literature Festival, the vision is to create a space for imagination, creativity and dialogue as fundamental values upon which just, and equitable societies are built and sustained.
More exciting announcements coming soon.
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