Writer-director Vidhu Vincent on Saturday announced her resignation from Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), an organisation for working women in the Malayalam film industry.
Vidhu, who was one of the founding members of WCC and held a key leadership role in the forum, said that she was quitting due to some personal and political differences with the forum.
According to sources, Vidhu had disagreements over certain work related ethics and issues.
"I am ending the journey with Women in Cinema Collective due to some personal and political differences. Media friends should take this as a notification as I was someone who used to share WCC's stance with the media. I will extend my full support to all efforts taken by WCC to help women make cinema and create a conducive environment for women within and outside the film industry," she wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
Vidhu also said that she hoped the organisation would develop "the strength for self-criticism in its journey forward."
WCC was founded in 2017 following the assault on a prominent Malayalam woman actor in Kerala, in order to ensure a safe working environment for women. Some of its notable members include scriptwriter Deedi Damodaran, actors Revathy, Padma Priya, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Reema Kallingal, film editor Beena Paul, director Anjali Menon and others.
The forum has held several activities and events to throw light on exclusionary work environments, gender discrimination in cinema and exploitation at the workplace.
In May 2017, the WCC submitted a petition to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan asking for prompt action in the Malayalam actor assault case. Later, the forum and its members publicly condemned AMMA's (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) decision to reinstate actor Dileep, who is accused of masterminding the assault on the actor, when the matter was sub-judice.
Its other efforts include requesting the state government to intervene to formalise wages and schemes for women in the film industry, including maternity pay, and also to increase representation of women in production crews. The forum has also urged the government to take efforts to start courses in order to generate direct employment opportunities for women in the industry.