MUMBAI: Aiming to bring together voices from across the globe on issues regarding disability, the eighth edition of the ‘We Care Film Festival‘ will go underway in the capital on 15 January.

The festival will be launched by Brotherhood, the United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan (UNIC), Unesco, the National Trust, which functions under the ministry of social justice and empowerment, and the Asian Academy of Film and Television (AAFT).

With 67 entries from countries like US, Britain, Canada, Israel, Indonesia, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Australia and Nepal besides India, the festival will travel across 25 venues in India and four South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan in five months.

Some of the places where the festival will be held in India are the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), AYJ National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped and SNDT Women‘s University in Mumbai, Tezpur University in Assam and Manipal Institute of Communication, Manipal University, in Karnataka.

Said an organiser of the festival, "The festival‘s uniqueness lies in the fact that the audience watches and rates each film through a participatory rating process. This approach goes a long way in familiarising people with persons living with disabilities and also encourages filmmakers to tell their stories in an effective yet engaging manner."

The festival will culminate in May.