WCC steps in, backs Sandra Thomas as war of words with Listin Stephen escalates

The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) has voiced its support for producer Sandra Thomas in her courageous and solitary fight for women’s rights within a male-dominated industry. On Instagram, the WCC shared a detailed statement applauding not just Sandra, but all women who have become brave voices challenging the patriarchy.

The Instagram post comes after producer Listin Stephen shared a video clip of Sandra blaming the WCC for not standing up to her during a difficult phase nearly a decade ago. In the video clip from a hospital, Sandra was heard saying that only the producers’ association had stood by her during her very public spat with producer Vijay Babu when they were joint partners of Friday Film House. She, however, maintained that a collective like WCC, which claimed to fight for the rights of women, had not bothered to reach out to her.

While some criticized Sandra for alleged double standards regarding the producers’ association, many acknowledged that she was speaking from her own experiences. Her recent remarks against leading film producers Listin Stephen and B Rakesh, as well as the association itself, were reportedly rooted in her latest interactions with them. WCC also praised singer Pushpavathy who called out filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan for his remarks against women and the SC/ST community and said the statements by the veteran director were deplorable.