NE shines bright at #Mumbaifilmfest

NE shines bright at Mumbai film fest

The Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) screened 33 movies from the North-East, including short films and documentaries. This was for the first time that the NE got such prominence in such an event


The subjects were as diverse as the culture of the eight states which represented the North-East in the festival and this is what made the package different from others and impressed the viewers. The package included 17 films from Assam, five from Manipur, two each from Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland and one from Sikkim. Presented by writer-journalist Chandan Sarmah, the NE special was inaugurated by noted filmmaker from Manipur Aribam Shyam Sharma in Mumbai's NCPA Complex.
"The response was very good. The North-East package was introduced in the MIFF only last year when 11 short movies were screened within a time span of five hours. This year, the festival devoted 12 hours for films from the region with 33 movies. It is really a positive development for NE filmmakers," said Chandan Sarmah.
The opening film was Jahnu Barua's 55-minute movie 'A River's Story: The Quest for the Brahmaputra'. The movie treats the river as its protagonist and portrays how it influences the people of the state and the ecosystem of the land as it flows through from Tibet to the Bay of Bengal.
The package included Aribam Shyam Sharma's 'Guru Laimayum Thambalngoubi Devi', a 25-minute documentary on the living guru of classical Manipuri dance. There was a 28-minute documentary on Sharma by Brajabidhu Singh as well.
Jyoti Prasad Das' 'The Green Warriors: Apatanis' focuses on Apatani women of Arunachal Pradesh. At a time when women do their best to look beautiful, these tribal women do exactly the opposite – they make themselves ugly to avoid being abducted by warrior tribesmen.
Noted Assamese filmmaker Gautam Bora's 35-minute documentary 'Beyond Death' deals with the Buddhist tantric rituals of the Gelukpa sect of the Monpa tribes of Arunachal Pradesh who revere death, as they believe the end of life opens the door for re-birth.
Insurgency and its effects are the topics of discussion in Meghalaya's director Bobby Wahengbam's 'Joseph Ki Macha'. Another entry from Meghalaya is 'Bad Places', directed by Tarun Bhartiya.
'Abiding Brew', a 44-minute documentary, directed by Chandra Narayan Barua, delves into secret rituals that go into the preparation of rice beer in the Tai-Ahom community.
The Mizos' belief that they belong to one of the lost tribes of Israel mentioned in the Old Testament is the theme of Director Pradeep Gogoi's 'Israel Ram Tana Dilna'. It is believed that one group of the tribe had entered China through Afghanistan and later travelling further east, made Mizoram their home. Many Mizos are now returning to Israel in search of their 'promised land'.
Director Deepak Bhattacharya's 19-minute documentary 'Unakoti - The Mask Icon' traces the history of a 30-feet high hooded deity of Shiva engraved on the rock in a hill near Agartala.

The highlight of the package was the special award to Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Shyam Sharma, who was conferred the V Shantaram Award for lifetime achievement in documentary filmmaking.

Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh, chief guest of the inaugural function of the 10th Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films 2008, conferred the award on Shyam Sharma. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 2.5 lakh, a citation and a shawl. It was for the first time in the history of the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIIF) that a person from North-East was awarded the prestigious award.

"It is a big surprise to me. I never thought of such a grand honour," Sharma said. Twelve times winner of national film awards, Shyam Sharma represented India in several international film festivals. He was also the first Indian to receive the Grand Prix in the Nantes International Film Festival for his feature film – Imagi Ningthem (My Son, My Precious) in 1982.

Asked about his future plans, he said, "I am planning to make documentaries on Mr Manipur Pradip Kumar, Geet Govind and Manipuri classical dance forms."

Ronel Haobam's 22-minute documentary film Nongpok Thongakpasinggi Wari (The Story of Eastern Protectors) was among the 54 films vying in the Indian competition section. Made in the Beta film format, Nongpok Thongakpasinggi Wari is based on a legendary female character and depicts the simple life of the Khoibu people woven around the annual festival called Hai-chingbawng and the consequences that follow.