New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) Twenty-five films from India and abroad will be showcased at a two-day film festival here March 7-8, seeking to give a glimpse how women filmmakers negotiate, resist or document political, social, cultural, environmental, educational or economic issues.

The 'International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) Asian Women's Film Festival 2008', as the festival is called, is the fourth in a series of similar festivals organised annually.

IAWRT is a non-profit organisation of women working in electronic and allied media and is in consultative status with United Nations Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc).

The non-government organisation seeks to ensure women's views and values become an integral part of programme making. It offers professional training to women in programme making, gives them grants and fellowships, organises workshops and festivals around the world.

Jai Chandiram, managing trustee of IAWRT, said the event is aimed at sparking debates on creative processes and concerns.

'Women have proved over the years that their hold on the medium of cinema is as good as that of other filmmakers. Films made by women filmmakers have a sensitivity that immediately strikes an emotional chord,' Chandiram said in a press statement.

'The aim of the festival is to open up a space for debates on creative processes and concerns,' he added.

Themed 'Insights and Aspirations', the festival will feature 25 short and full-length films from Australia, Japan, Pakistan, and the US besides India.

Apart from documentary films the event that coincides with the International Women's Day, will also offer fiction and animation short-films.

The films will be screened at the India International Centre auditorium.

'Recognizing the critical need for a forum that can sustain the form of documentary as well as women's contribution to this unique form, the festival will showcase films created by women, covering a range of genres and expressive styles,' he added.

The event will include panel discussions on how women filmmakers are widening the frame for issues concerning women.