SHILLONG:
The three-day documentary film festival, titled, Indie 8 Documentary Film Festival, has been organised by the Northeast India AV Archive and the Department of Mass Media, St. Anthony’s College, from March 8 to 10, 2023.
The aim of this festival is to celebrate documentary filmmaking of Northeast India.
Mechanical engineer-turned-documentary filmmaker Shantanu Sen’s short, Man and the Wild, was among the many documentary films screened on the first day. It focused on the concept of food forest. Sen interviewed Assam-based farmer, Samir Bordoloi, who works with the different farming communities to create “green commandoes” to take care of the natural environment, and expand on the idea of food forests, in a statement, “It’s not man and nature; it’s man versus nature.”
The short, I Rise, by Manipur-based filmmaker, Borun Thokchom, focused on the state’s boxing culture and boxer Sarita Devi, whose balancing act between her family and passion, including her boxing academy, formed the narrative.
Thokchom said, “She (Devi) was a reputed sportsperson and I approached her casually, knowing it was difficult to make a biopic. Manipuri society is very conservative and so making a documentary takes time. It was a process of five years and we became like a family.”
The first day ended with the film, Before You Were My Mother, by Nepal-based woman filmmaker, Prasuna Dongol. Her documentary focused on bonds women share, travelling to Manipur where her mother was born and grew up, in an effort to see womanhood unfolds through inter-generational bonds.
She said, “This film is a labour of love. Growing up, I always felt there was some distance between my mother and myself. We still share a very close relationship, but there were parts of her life that I did not fully understand or appreciate. There is so much more to her story and making this documentary was healing for me and my mother.”
Other documentary filmmakers include Amar Maibam, Shrutiman Deori, Karma Palzor Bhutia, Sanjib Das, Abhinash Bharali, Pranab Jyoti Deka and Sujit Debbarma, among others.
A master class with RintuThomas and Sushmit Ghosh is scheduled on the final day of the festival for which registration is required.