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Namya Chadha

@_cameraft_

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Just a girl with her camera 🎞️
Film and Video @nid_ahmedabad 🎓
DM for collaborations🎥📸
📍India

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How does hearing loss shape identity, communication, and everyday life?

Join Namya Chadha at EMPOWER 2026 as she explores disability narratives through her nonfiction filmmaking practice, sharing insights into accessibility and the making of her film Behind the Ears.

Discover how storytelling can create space for lived experiences and a deeper understanding of disability.

2–4 October 2026
IIT Delhi

#EMPOWER2026 #AssistiveTechnology #DigitalAccessibility #InclusiveEmployment #IITDelhi

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Introducing Cohort 3 of PSBT Doc_Commune 2026-27!

In partnership with @ifiofficiel @franceinindia @arthshila

Know more on www.psbt.org/doc_commune

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What does it mean to be a deaf womxn in a world that is built neither for womxn nor deaf folks?

This International Women’s Day, we asked Deaf womxn to complete one sentence:
“Being a Deaf womxn means…”

Their answers are honest, powerful, and deeply personal.

Because deaf women are not an afterthought in feminism, we are part of the story.

Swipe through to read our voices 💜

P.S.: If you are a Deaf womxn reading this, we would love to know what does “Being a deaf womxn mean..” to you.

#notdeafenough #deafpride #deafwomxn #womensday #happywomensday

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After returning home to Santiniketan, I have been reflecting on my experience at the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa in December 2025.

During the installation and exhibition, it was sometimes difficult because there were missing information and communication.

I also felt a disconnect with the space where our works were installed. The space for our exhibition was very small, and I felt sad because I hoped our works could be shown together in shared spaces, regardless of disability or non-disability. Art should bring us together, not separate us.

I apologize if my words sound strong, but I want to be honest about my feelings. I truly believe in a future where artists with and without disabilities share the same spaces and visibility.

I am deeply thankful to curator @salilwheels , who worked very hard for us and helped us feel safe and confident. I was very inspired by a poem he shared:

खुला हूँ मैं
दुनिया के लिए
एक घाव की तरह

I am also very thankful to @wannabegarbagewarrior and Deeksha Vats for supporting my work. #serenpidityartsfestival @serendipityartsfoundation

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Sharing a glimpse of the technical production work FAEM was part of at the Art Park and
Access Gallery for Serendipity Arts Festival 2025, Goa.

From sound to mapped projections, these works came together through deep collaboration
between artists, curators, and technical teams to bring the exhibitions to life.

Image 1 & 2 : Immersive live projection with sound as part of Forest Mind by Maya Rochat
(@maya_rochat ) at the Art Park.

Image 3 : Technical support for The Culinary Odyssey of Goa curated by Odette Mascarenhas (@odettemasci) at the Art Park.

Image 4, 5 & 6 : Projections, Media and Sound for Therefore I am curated by Salil Chaturvedi (@salilwheels) featuring the works by River Budur (@riverbudur), Namya Chadha (@_cameraft_ )and Janhavi Khemka (@janhavi_khemka ).

Image Credit: @serendipityartsfestival

[Serendipity Arts Festival, SAF2025, 10 Years of SAF, 10 Years In, Technical Production

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This plenary address introduces the new threat of algorithmic ableism, where biased data in AI and ML systems threatens to automate and accelerate social exclusion, making the design of ethical data diversity paramount. It investigates how design, entrepreneurship, and policy must collaboratively engineer truly inclusive futures, moving beyond tokenism to dismantle systemic oppression. The address first challenges the prevailing view of disability, adopting the Systems Model to argue that exclusion is the outcome of environments “planned for somebody other than you”. This requires treating rights-based policy, such as the UNCRPD and the RPwD Act, as a non-negotiable design brief to counter the default ableist system.

Second, the talk addresses the critical challenge of intersectionality. Drawing on the experience of disabled women in India who face a “double bind” of gender and disability oppression, it highlights how this marginalization is reproduced, not just in social spaces (like the communication silence in a colony courtyard), but in the cloud.

Finally, the address outlines an Ethical Mandate for Design. It argues for embracing Universal Design (UD) as a core philosophy—an emancipatory praxis that compels designers to ask: “Does my design reproduce domination or does it liberate?”. Beyond the moral and legal imperatives, the talk demonstrates the powerful economic imperative of UD, positioning accessibility not as a welfare cost, but as a superior growth strategy that captures the loyal, multi-trillion-dollar global Disability Market. The presentation ultimately calls on designers and policymakers to leverage their “design imagination” to prioritize dignity, equity, and algorithmic justice in all future creations. (Thanks for sharing: @anupreetdugal )

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Spent a weekend with this group in Kochi. So fortunate to exchange and share space with each one of them and learn more about their work and practices. Returned home with so much to take back and process 🍁

Inspired by @restingmuseum — for the powerful work that they do, the care, labour and sensitivity that went into this seminar and creating this collective space 🤍

Thankful to @marioashleydsouza @radicallyrebecca and the @kochibiennale team for inviting and supporting this programme ✨

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When Namya Chadha @_cameraft_ first got a camera in the 11th standard, she hadn't anticipated that her passion for storytelling could one day take her to the international stage. In fact, even when her recent film Behind The Ears was nominated for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne @iffmelbourne, she was in disbelief that her work had gained such recognition. "It is still sinking in," she told me. "Coming from Meerut, people have had a different level of awareness about disabilities all my life. So I am glad I got a start in my own country; this is where the awareness begins."

Namya, who is hard of hearing, calls her hearing aids her 'strength', and uses filmmaking to explore different layers of disabilities and social justice. Namya pursued Film and Video Communication from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and also participated in an exchange programme at the Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem.

From a graduation project to international cinema circuits, Behind the Ears, redefines how we view invisible disabilities in cinema. The film follows two women, Janhavi Khemka @janhavi_khemka and Lavannya Balakrishnan, as they navigate their strengths, challenges, and inner reflections as Indian women living with hearing impairments.

Namya believes that representation in film has the power to rewrite societal narratives, especially for underrepresented voices like people with disabilities, women, or queer people. But there are still many cracks that need to be filled in the Indian film landscape. "Accessibility continues to be a big gap. Something basic like subtitles is still treated as 'optional,'" she shared.

Interview by Tanya Savkoor | Visit www.shethepeople.tv to read more.

#Film #cinema #india #disability #hearingimpaired #deaf #art #movies

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Every week, discover a comprehensive guide to culture and lifestyle across India with the Homegrown Bulletin. The #HGBulletin includes creative project launches, events, the latest releases, and much more.

1. ‘Behind The Ears’ By Namya Chadha (@_cameraft_ )
2. Miniatures By Homegrown Artists- @esmaric.co, @theyellowbrushh, @omkara.creations
3. Cinema Lab 10 By Akshay Indikar @indikarakshay
4. One Night In Toki-O: Hyderabad by @homegrownin and @suntorytoki
5. @homegrowninmusic: Label Preview

Read more via the link in the bio!

#homegrown #culturebulletin #HGBulletin #thisweekinculture #Toki #miniatures #homegrownmusic #cinemalab #behindtheears

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Behind The Ears
International Premiere
Behind the Ears is an intimate documentary following Janhavi and Lavannya, who are deaf and hard of hearing. As their stories unfold, the film explores how societal perceptions shape self-image. Through resilience and self-acceptance, they reclaim their identities while the filmmaker’s own journey deepens this reflection on connection, disability, and the unseen layers of identity.
Cast: Janhavi Khemka, Lavannya Balakrishnan, Namya Chadha
Director: Namya Chadha

Babli By Night
Australian Premiere
Babban, a Muslim, transgender forest guard navigates life in a rural Indian forest with a family that doesn’t understand them, with animals that may be the only hope and an unexpected HIV diagnosis.
Director: Neel Soni

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Stories that often go unheard. Voices from the margins.
This powerful selection of films brings to light lives that live in the shadows — resilient, raw and deeply human.

Humans In the Loop (Hindi, Kurukh) – Aranya Sahay
Marching In The Dark (Marathi) – Kinshuk Surjan
Happy (German) – Sandeep Kumar
Little Jaffna (Tamil, French) – Lawrence Valin
Babli By Night (Hindi) – Neel Soni
Behind The Ears (English, Hindi) – Namya Chadha
Piquancy Silent Heroes (English) – Nandita Chakraborty

@mitulange @wearevicscreen @vicgovernor @cgimelbourne @cityofmelbourne @visitmelbourne @latrobeuni @hoytsaustralia @remitly @mcec @blackmagicnewsofficial @singaporeair @jacintaallanmp @lordmayormelb @timwattsmp @brooksymp @dannypearsonmp @indusageaus @radiohaanji @theaustoday @9newsmelbourne @gday_india @southasiatimes @whatsonmelb @latrobeindianstudentsclub @muicmelbourne @indianlink @aushcindia @ausgov @meaindia @indianhighcommission @nab

#indianfilmfestivalmelbourne #IFFM #filmfestival #IFFMcelebratesfilm #weloveiffm #Melbourne #Victoria #15yearsofIFFM #IFFMturns16 #festivalfilms #filmvic #diaspora #Indianaudience #IFFM2025

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