WeDIO ( i.e. We Do It Ourselves)

WeDIO - The Participatory WeDIO Unit of Praxis

The mission of the WeDIO Unit (We Do It Ourselves) is to celebrate and promote participatory video (PV) and non-fiction filmmaking, to establish Praxis as a center of participatory video and documentary filmmaking.

We at Praxis’s WeDIO unit believe that PV and documentaries connect us with the human experience like no other art form. They inspire our deepest passions, hopes, fears, and ideals. Documentary and participatory Video are now recognised as significant art forms, critical tools for education, and a forum for discussion on a wide range of social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues. Whereas, PV is a set of techniques to involve a group or community in shaping and creating their own film, the idea behind it is that making a video is easy and accessible, and is a great way of bringing people together to explore issues, voice concerns or simply to be creative and tell stories. It has revolutionised how media is delivered and perceived by the public, and has challenged us to think critically about some of the most important subjects of our time.

Praxis develops and disseminates audio-visual material, which are produced in-house. Praxis’s WeDIO unit houses some of the latest digital production devices for use to this effect.

The salient activities of the unit include

• Producing documentaries on various themes and issues of development.
• Providing training in participatory video to communities and development workers to produce their own video footage and films.
• Developing and using video in training situations.
• Developing footage on themes in 'participation'.

Praxis’s WeDIO Unit exists to continue in the venerable traditions of participatory video and documentary film and to take it beyond the current limits of the genre.

The following are some of ore popular films which are available on request:-

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a. Who holds the stick : 24:00 Minutes (English)   Film on attitudes and behaviours of PRA   b. PRA Myths and Realities : 05:00 Minutes (English)   A short film attempting to dispel myths about PRA.   c. Sitting Matters : 5 Minutes (English)   A short film assessing the merits and demerits of various sitting arrangements of participants in a group.

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An animation film on the spirit of participatory needs assessment.

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a. Sutradhar Kaun : 25 Minutes (Hindi)   This film is the hindi translation of Who Holds the Stick, a film on the attitudes and behavious of PRA.   b. Kursiyon ki Kahani (Hindi)   This is the hindi version of Sitting Matters a film that assesses the merits and demerits of various sitting arrangements

AFTER IMAGES

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a. Waves of Solidarity : 21:00 Minutes (English)   A film dedicated to the memory of tsunami victims and all the girls, boys, women and men piecing together lives and livelihoods with great dignity.   b. Rescue Relief and Now Rebuilding : 05:00 Minutes (English)   A film on the Participatory Assessment of Orissa Government delivery services, bringing into focus the privations and agony of the poor, their opinions, voices,assertions and the articulation of their point of view(s).

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A film on the people's perceptions of urban poverty.

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A film on the PPA experiences and the field outcome tracing the roots of poverty in Madhya Pradesh, India.

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A visual documentation of a snake charmer community from Morena district, Madhya Pradesh that has been pushed to the fringes of existence.

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One sultry night in July 2007, the embankments around the Kamalabalan river in Darbhanga, and Bihar crumbled yet again. In the span of a few hours, lives and livelihoods, hopes and aspirations were washed away by a preventable, man-made disaster, leaving villagers in a swamp of debt, disease, and displacement.

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Millions of migrant workers from Bihar and other poor states of India live in conditions of abject deprivation vulnerable to attacks against their fundamental human and labor rights for no other reason than, that they are poor and can’t influence policy makers and implementers. The film in brief is a journey through the triumphs and traumas faced by migrant workers in their state of origin and destination both. 2008.

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A preliminary pack about “behaviour and attitudes”: its key principals, reflections by facilitators, and exercises to enhance awareness of different aspects of “b&a”.

Note : Please note that we make our films under financial constraints. Despite our level best to ensure optimal quality, there may be a few lapses in some of the older film. But this does not take away from ouroverall objective which is to deliver an audio visual message that will enlighten the viewer.

How to order