Minister of State for I&B, Col.
Rajyavardhan Rathore has said that the Government intended to make the North
East Film Festival, a ‘People’s Movement’ which would become better with each
passing year. The Government remained committed to promote and facilitate popular
cinema of the North East so that a long lasting brand equity to the films of
the region could be established through such events and film festivals. Such
events also acted as a catalyst to strengthen the talent across platforms from
the region. The Minister stated this while delivering his address at the
inaugural ceremony of the three days festival here today.
Elaborating further, the Minister
mentioned that the films from the North East always attracted attention in
International Film Festivals and in academic circles for their canvas of human
emotions and their reflections of society. The increase in representation of
cinema at such events was definitely a healthy sign of growing culture of
cinema in the region. It also reiterated the willingness of creative artists to
venture in the medium of cinema. He further mentioned that the creative talent
from the region had been regularly winning national and international awards,
and travelling to prestigious international festivals over the decades.
During his address the Minister specifically
mentioned that the I&B Ministry had undertaken special measures to promote
the flow of quality information in the region through the Prasar Bharati
network. The current FM Phase III auction had earmarked 15 channels for
bidding which would enable the growth of radio in the region in the private FM
domain. The Minister highlighted the measures being taken to promote quality
education in the field of journalism through the Indian Institute of Mass
Communication currently at Aizawal. He also mentioned that efforts were being
made to fast track the process of establishing the Film making institute at
Arunachal Pradesh. This initiative was part of the overall vision to promote
and strengthen youth talent from the North-Eastern Region. Minister for State
for Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal in his address
mentioned that such festivals showcased the youth talent of the region and
reiterated the cinematic legacy of the region. Secretary (I&B) Shri Bimal
Julka mentioned that the initiative was part of the vision to promote cinema as
medium of creative expression especially from the North East Region.
The inaugural ceremony today
witnessed the premiere screening of Manipuri feature film ‘Pallepfam’ which is
directed & produced by Shri WanglenKhundongban which is also his debut
film. The screening was preceded by three cultural shows that will had the
Hojagiri Dance troupe from Tripura, DholPungCholam Dance troupe from Manipur
and The Girish and Chronicles, a Hard Rock Band from Sikkim. In order to
provide a complete flavour of the region to the visitors, film screenings will
be supplemented by cultural programmes, exhibitions of handicrafts and books,
food stalls and much more during the festival.
The Directorate of Film Festival
under the aegis of Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is organising the
three day festival “Fragrances of the North-eastern films”. The festival
provides a platform to cine lovers to view films from the North East. The
festival is being held at the Siri Fort Auditorium Complex from August 21st
– 23rd, 2015.
The festival also includes a
retrospective of maestro Shri AribamSyam Sharma from Manipur. Six films
including two feature films Ishanou and ImagiNingthem and four non feature
films titled Orchids of Manipur, The Deer on The Lake, Indigenous Games of
Manipur and YelhouJagoi will be screened in the retrospective.
Apart from the retrospective the
film Ko:Yad by eminent film maker from Assam Manju Borah will be showcased.
While Tribeny Rai’s films ‘Yathawat’ and “Last Rites” from Sikkim will be
presented, ‘Maithya’ directed by Shri Joseph Pulinthanath and ‘Crossing
Bridges’ by ‘Sanga DorjeeThongdok will give a glimpse of Tripura and Arunachal
Pradesh.
A bouquet of short films from
Meghalaya “Karyukai” and Rong’ Kuchak directed by DomnicSangma and from
Nagaland documentary titled ‘The Honey Hunter And The Maker’ directed by
Tiainla Jamir and Story of a House directed by SesinoYhoshu&SophyLasuh will
also be presented.
The closing film of the festival
will be ‘AisaYehJahaan’ on August 23.
The
highlights of the cultural component of the three day festival are as follows:
Hojagiri (Tripura)
Hojagiri is a folk dance, performed in the
state of Tripura by the Reang people. It is performed by women and young
girls, singing, balancing on an earthen pitcher and managing other props such
as a bottle on the head and earthen lamp on the hand, while only the lower half of the body
is moved.
The dance is performed on the occasion
of Hojagiri festivals or Laxmi Puja,
held in the following full moon night of Durga Puja
generally after 3rd day of Dashera. The Goddess Mailuma, (Laxmi) is worshipped
on this day.
The male members participate in
singing the lyric, playing the Kham and Sumui (Kshumu). The lyrics are very
simple. Required for the dance are, a BAILING, a wide circular rice cleaning
article made of cane, a pitcher or kalash, a bottle, a hous hold traditional
lamp, a plain dish and a handkerchief for each performer.
DholPungCholom (Manipur)
The Pungcholom is a Manipuri dance. It is the soul of Manipuri Sankirtana music and Classical Manipuri dance. The PungCholom is a unique classical dance of Manipur. This dance may be performed by men or women. In this
style, the dancers play the pung (a form of hand beaten drum) while they dance at the same time. Dancers need to be graceful and
acrobatic at the same time. They use these acrobatic
effects without breaking the
rhythm or flow of music. The dance is marked by a gentle rhythm, which
gradually builds up to a thunderous climax. Pungcholom borrows elements from
the Manipuri martial arts Thang Ta and SaritSarak and also from the traditional
MaibiJagoi dance.
Girish and The Chronicles (Sikkim)
Girish and The Chronicles (commonly
abbreviated as GATC) is an Indian Hard rock/Heavy Metal band
from Gangtok, Sikkim, formed in 2009, by the Singer-Songwriter/Vocalist Girish
Pradhan. Presently based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, GATC is a four
member band, known for their electrifying live shows. Heavily influenced from
bands such as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden,Guns
and Roses. GATC has been touring the country and overseas for more than 5 years
now, although the line-up has existed since 2006 but was known as Revolving
Barrel. After having released numerous singles onlinesince 2009, The band
released its first official album on June 2014 under Universal Music Group.
The band is known for its peculiar Classic Hard Rock/Heavy Metalsound
influenced from the bands of'70s/'80s era. GATC is known to be the first and
the only band from Sikkim to ever have travelled/performed overseas
and toured on a national scale.
CP/ST