Skip to content Skip to navigation

Rare honour for Naga music

By AT News |

Some mesmerizing Naga music will reverberate in a castle on a rocky island off the coast of Italy and the heights of the Himalayas around the same time this month end as filmmaker-critic Utpal Borpujari’s documentary “Songs of the Blue Hills” has been invited to three more international film festivals.

The film has been selected to the 12th Ischia Film Festival held under the patronage of the President of Italy in the medieval Aragonese Castle located on the Mediterranean Sea, the 7th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) and the Ladakh International Film Festival after having already earned high appreciation in six international film festivals.

Produced by Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), an organisation under the Union Ministry of Culture, the film features an eclectic range of Naga musicians who are practising the folk music of various Naga tribes in their pure and contemporary forms.

The 96-minute film earlier got invited to the Doc Outlook International Market of the Visions du Reel Film Festival (Nyon, Switzerland), Gothenburg Independent Film Festival (Sweden), New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), Eyes & Lenses Ethnographic Film Festival (Warsaw, Poland), the World Music & Independent Film Festival (Washington) and Signs 2014 Documentary Film Festival, Kochi.

It has now been invited for the “Documentari fuori concorso”section of the Ischia Film Festival which, complementing its unique venue, focuses on the importance of reflecting cultures and locations in audiovisual works.

“Every year, the festival presents a selection of films from all over the world, emphasizing the cultural identity or the landscape's features of a certain territory through the audiovisual narration,” says a spokesperson of the festival which was designed in 2002 by Michelangelo Messina for “The Association Art Movie e Music”.

The Festival is an important part of a wider project called "Cinema and territory" that aims at protecting cultural and landscape peculiarities of territories in order to promote them through the audiovisual medium. 

“Songs of the Blue Hills” features some fascinating music as well as dialogue with musicians like veteran Ao folk singers Sademmeren Longkumer and A. Bendangyanger Tsuwar Jamir, Chakhesang folk veteran Zachunu Keyho, classical pianist Nise Meruno, and groups like the Tetseo Sisters, the Nagaland Singing Ambassadors, the Chancel Choir, Ru’a, Üsou’s Instrumental, Abiogenesis, Nagagenous, Baptist Youth Choir Poilwa Village and Purple Fusion.

In addition, experts such as Dr A Lanunugsang, Lipokmar Tzudir, Gugs Chishi, Theja Meru, Vivee Peseye, Som Kamei, Zubeno Mozhui and Dr Abraham Lotha have shared their views on the changing face of Naga music in recent times. 

  • 10819 reads

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

Preparation for Diamond Jubilee Celebration of ADP College

Anandaram  Dhekial Phookan College, established on 7th September 1959 in the hallowed memory of Anandaram Dhekial Phookan is going to celebrate its Diamond Jubilee year beginning  from 7th September 2018. A strong committee has been formed recently with Governing Body president Sahajananda Oja as President and Principal Dr Surajit Kumar Bhagowati as Secretary for this purpose. Dr Sanjib Kumar Borkakoti is the chief co-ordinator of the year-long programme.  Numerous programmes have been chalked out for the celebration. There will be three Seminars & workshops on culture, sports and career as part of the celebration. Sportspersons Mary Com and Dipankar Bhattacharya will be...

Amguri joins protest against citizenship move

BIJOY BURAGOHAINAMGURI: Hundreds of people took out a torch rally in Amguri on Sunday in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 alleging it a conspiracy to push Assam, it's people, language and culture to the verge of extinction.Holding torches in their hands at the rally jointly organized by local KMSS and  Ahom Jatiya Gana Manch, Assam, the protesters shouted slogans against the governments in Delhi and Dispur.They, further,warned the government of dire consequrnces if it proceeds with the move for Indian citizenship for the non Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh and Pakistan.

JFA expresses grief at scribe’s demise

Guwahati: Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA) expresses grief at the untimely demise of senior cultural reporter Rejek Ali Ahmed after a brain-stroke few weeks back. He was under treatment in a city based hospital and continued to be without sense for all these days. Multiple organ failures were reported at the time of his death on Sunday (20 May 2018) evening.

Escalating protest in Jorhat

BIJOY BURAGOHAIN JORHAT:The state wide protest over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 refuses to die down in Assam where more and more people have joined to keep the  move for citizenship to non Muslim immigrants at bay. The Asom Premi Yuva Chatra Samaj took out a huge torch rally in Jorhat town on Friday evening suggesting an escalating protest across the state. Nearly 5,000 people joined the torch rally across the premier upper Assam town shouting slogans against the Government. Jorhat KMSS activists along with their AATASU counterparts have joined the protest calling it an attempt to and Assam, its people, language and culture. APYCS president Manuj Gogoi, KMSS Jorhat...

Rare honour for Assam scholar

NEW DELHI: Foreign policy expert Rejaul Karim Laskar has been conferred by the Embassy of Venezuela to India with the "Venezuela-India Blend" medal for his contributions as an author and scholar of India's foreign policy. Laskar was conferred with the medal by the Ambassador of Venezuela to India Augusto Montiel at the Venezuela Embassy, New Delhi yesterday (May 10, 2018). Laskar is also former Secretary of the Intellectual Department of All India Congress Committee.   Montiel and Laskar had a two hour long discussion on ways to strengthen India-Venezuela relations in economic, trade, cultural, political and people-to-people interaction. Ambassador Montiel explained to...

Why Kalita took the lead: ULFA(I)

TINSUKIA: ULFA(I) has justified the attack on Bhaskar Kalita a day after the police officer died in an encounter with the rebel outfit. Talking to media, military head of the rebel outfit fighting for an independent Assam Paresh Baruah said, as a rule, never do they target a son of the soil. But in the same breath he said Kalita, the officer in charge of the Bordumsa Police station came to attack the rebels. Baruah observed that they are not happy at all with the incident but he said Kalita should not have taken the lead against the rebels who were hiding in the house. Amid an intensified counter insurgency operation, DGP Kula Saikia is holding a stock meeting with police, army and para...

Massive operation against rebels in Tinsukia

TINSUKIA: Security forces are fanning in Kujupathar in Tinsukia district in search of the ULFA(I) rebels who killed a police office in a fierce gun fight in the evening. Army, police and para military forces have been intensifying the counter insurgency operation in the entire area where as many as seven dreaded rebels including two lady are believed to have been hiding to monger trouble. Additional director general, inspector general, his deputy and Tinsukia superintendent of police Mugdhajyoti Mahanta have been monitoring the massive operation with the help of army and CRPF jawans. Jan Asom, a close rebel of the self styled commander in chief Paresh Baruah is learnt to have been taking...

Police officer killed in gunfight with ULFA(I)

TINSUKIA: After a brief halt, gunfight erupts in Assam where ULFA(I) rebels killed a police officer at an encounter in Tinsukia district on Friday where five other policemen sustained serious injury.  Two rebels are also killed in the gunfight which still is going on with grenade and bullets in two places along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. The one hour long fierce fighting took place in the evening at Kujupathar area in Bardumsa where local police station officer in charge Bhaskar Kalita succumbed to bullet injuries. Acting on a tip off, army, police and para military forces launched a combing operation in search of a group of ULFA (I) rebel in the afternoon where Kalita...

Red carpet to private parties! Stop

The Civil Society Alliance – Assam, a solidarity group committed to the cause of promoting and defending indigenous peoples’ rights for peace, justice and equality is expressing to voice its  deep concern regarding the proposed financing development model of privatizing the historical monuments of Ahom Kingdoms of Sivasagar district and kaziranga National Park of Assam being crafted through the ambitious ‘adopt a heritage’ in the state.  CSAA  believe that this kind of aggressive project pose greater challenge to sustainable and people-oriented development which institutionalize the private control over the resources and divert the government attention from addressing the...

Adopt heritage scheme keeps Assam burning

GUWAHATI: The much-hyped scheme to roll out red carpet to a section of private player to maintain Kaziranga along with three Ahom era monuments triggers no less protest across the state leaving the BJP-led government red faced. No sooner had the Centre announced the move to hand over the maintenance of the national park, historic Rong Ghar, Kareng Ghar and the Shiv temple in Sivasagar to a private travel agency, than major opposition political parties and influential organizations to hit the streets to exercise restraint. If somebody stages sit somewhere to take on the government, somebody is holding press conference. These are in addition to the tradition protest rally and burning...