SHILLONG:
The lone film from Meghalaya, Because We Did Not Choose, will feature at the 17th edition of Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF).
The MIFF began on Sunday with the screening of one film each from documentary, short film and animation category.
Because We Did Not Choose is a meticulous documentation that examines the participation of indigenous labourers from the North East during World War I.
Shot over four years in Shillong, Guwahati, Kolkata, Chennai and Europe, the film shines light on the unacknowledged and forgotten presence of indigenous labour in the war.
The director of the 92-minute documentary film, Wanphrang K. Diengdoh, said he did his research from the documents available in British libraries, from the archive in New Delhi, Kolkata, Wales, France and even from private collections as well.
Because We Did Not Choose looks at the World War I and the involvement of communities at a time when spaces inhabited by them were transitioning or struggling to accommodate modernity and the rest of its implications.
Shot over a period of four years, the film is a meticulous documentation of the journey made by the labourers from North East India to the war front.
The film was also shot in France with the help and support of the Commonwealth War graves Commission.