Skip to content Skip to navigation

Tripura film bags first National Film Award

By editor |

Internationally acclaimed Kokborok film YARWNG (Roots) won the first national film award for Tripura at 56th National Film Awards (2008) held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, 19 March, 2010. The President of India Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil handed over the medal and certificate to Don Bosco priests Joseph Kizhakechennadu (producer) and Fr. Joseph Pulinthanath (director) for their second feature film.


Pulinthanath dressed in white cassock and Kizhakechennadu in his preferred saffron lungi and half-sleeved white kurta were among 52 film award winners of 2008, including high-profile Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra and the doyen of Indian Cinematography V.K. Murthy who was awarded country’s highest honor in cinema - the Dada Saheb Phalke Award.


Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Smt. Ambika Soni and Dr. S. Jagathrakshakan, Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, and other officials accompanied the President.


Accent on People’s Cinema


The award winning 95 minute film Yarwng (Roots) tells the story of large-scale displacement of tribal people that took place in the tiny Northeastern state when a hydel project was set up there in the late 1970s. Yarwng was the opening film at the prestigious Indian Panorama section of the 39th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji, Goa, November 2008.


According to the filmmakers, the script of Yarwng emerged from the numerous encounters they held with displaced people in the sanctity of their ramshackle homes. “All the incidents and emotional turmoil we see in the film were etched in the subconscious psyche of the people. All we did was to get close to them and feel their stories as they recalled them with looks, sighs, tears and also words,” recalled the priest director and winner of national and international awards.


“Although the technical team came from Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) and the support team from Guwahati (Assam), the best part of the production was the involvement of the local people,” says producer Kizhakechennadu who claims cinematic traditions from his legendary relative John Abraham, a genius in Malayalam cinema and founder of a people's cinema movement called Odessa.


All the artistes and production hands were from Tripura state including noted actors Meena Debbarma who plays the lead role of Karmati, Amulya Ratan Jamatia, Nirmal Jamatia and Surabhi Debbarma.


Yarwng has traveled throughout India and has been screened in major cities around the world including New York, Brisbane, Moscow, Taipei, Stuttgart and Dhaka.


Yarwng also won a Special Jury Mention Award at the 3rd Eye Asian film festival held in Mumbai in 2008.


The film, part-financed by Church organizations – Missio Germany, Signis and the Salesian Congregation is also a compelling testament to the commitment of the Church and the Don Bosco Society to preservation of local, indigenous cultures and people.


C.M. Paul, New Delhi

Comments

KOUSHIK HAZARIKA's picture

Submitted by KOUSHIK HAZARIKA on Sat, 27/03/2010 - 07:06
In the year of the brilliant Samson and Delilah, BIFF will bring a stream of films by or about Indigenous people, called Colourise films. These include The Inheritors, which documents rural Mexico, capturing the dignity and humanity of people in the face of incredible exploitation. Both Roots and Birdwatchers tell a universal story of displacement from land and culture.

Pages

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

Tension in Cotton College campus

An uneasy situation is prevailing in the Cottion College campus when a girl student commit suicide on Monday. Talking to newsmen at the college campus magistrate Chinmoy Phukan confirmed that Sahanaz Rahman, a degree student in the stream of science committed suicide by hanging at a newly constructed building in the campus after she reached there to appear in the examination. Shahanaz hails from Machkhowa area. Later her body was taken for post mortem in presence of magistrate. Meanwhile a pall of gloom is descending in the entire campus following the incident. It took place hardly a month after a student committed suicide near girl hostel in the Gauhati university campus.

Health Check-up for Scribes in Press Club

A health check-up camp for scribes has been organized at Guwahati Press Club on April 3 (Saturday). Organized with the support from NEMCARE hospital, the camp will start at 10 am (to continue till 12.30 noon). Member-journalists are requested to attend the same.

House adjourned over RS poll controversy

A simmering political mercury over the recent Rajya Sabha polls has forced the adjournment of the House twice in 30 minutes on Monday. it All these began when the opposition party MLAs disrupted the proceedings as soon as the House started its question hour. Raising banners and festoons, the Opposition parties alleged murder of democracy in the Rajya Sabha polls. The Opposition parties demanded point of order in view of the serious allegations of horse trading in the poll. Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai refused to accede to the demand. The Opposition party MLAs said they would not allow the House to function unless point of order is allowed. Amid an unruly scene, the Speaker adjourned the House...

Prize Money Bihu Dance Competition at Gurgaon

Assam Association, Gurgaon is going to celebrate 'Rongali Bihu 2010' on April 17 (Saturday) at DLF Phase-I Community Centre, Gurgaon. The highlights of this years Rongali Bihu is that for the first time in Delhi region, a prize money bihu dance competition is being organised. The competition is only open to women. Interested participants are requested to contact the organizer immediately: Mridul Bhuyan, president, mobile: 09910378040.

Volatile situation in Goalpara

Violence erupts again in Goalpara district of lower Assam on Saturday as the supporters of the on going 48 hour Rabha Hasong bandh set on fire some vehicles in the morning. A section of supporters tried to restrict the movement of vehicle by road blockade in Dhupdhara where policemen resorted to blankfire to disperse the supporters. The authorities have beefed up security to bring the situation. Notably, the bandhcall was given in protest against the move to hold the panchayat elections in the Rabha hasong autonomous council areas.

Pyrrhic victory for Congress in Assam RS poll

Amid a high voltage drama and allegations of horse trading the ruling Congress has retained both the Rajya Sabha seats from Assam after the end of the polling on Friday. It’s a smooth sailing for the first preference Nazneen Farooq but the second on Silvius Condpan had a keen contest with the Opposition consensus candidate and media baron Jayanta Baruah. BJP’s four MLAs including Dr Rumi Nath, Abhijeet Hazarika along the 2 from AIUDF and one from AGP came to the rescue of the Congress besides the three independent candidates. Meanwhile, the BJP has suspended all the four MLAs for refusing to toe on the party line a day after AGP axed Abdul Aziz and AUDF sacked 2 MLAs.

RS poll: all legislators cast votes

Amid a high voltage drama the voting for two Rajya Sabha seats is underway in Dispur. The opposition consensus candidate Jayanta Barua finds it quite Harculean task to ensure victory when 5 MLAs from AGP, AIUDF, BJP and ASDC promised votes for Congress.

Two-wheeler riders for a cause in Guwahati

Three two-wheeler riders from Kerala will arrive at Guwahati Press Club tomorrow (Friday) at 9 am. The team has taken the mission under 'Desh Suraksha Sandesh Yatra' against terrorism. Led by NP Satheesan Menon, the team will cover nearly 15,000 km in 45 days crossing almost all States of the country to spread awareness for a terror free India. They had started their journey on February 19 from the front of Kochi Refineries Limited, Kerala. The mission will be culminated in Kerala.

RS POLL: Ruling, Opposition making last ditch attempts to ensure victory

Hectic political activities have reached all time high a day before the Rajya Sabha polls for 2 seats from Assam on Thursday. The ruling Congress is all set to win the first one seat where the party fields Najneen Farooq. The party's second preference and sititng Rajya Sabha MP Silvous Condpan is facing a keen contest as the Opposition camp has fielded media baron Jayanta Baruah. Both the ruling and the Opposition camps are in a last ditch effort to woo the MLAs barring party lines. The ruling Congress will fall short of some votes to ensure the victory of its second preference candidate. But efforts are on to ensure votes from the Opposiotion camps taking the advangate of the simmering...

Youth commits suicide in GU campus

Once again the Gauhati university campus buys a bad name. An uneasy situation is prevailing in the varsity camp when a boy committed suicide on Wednesday evening. According to information, identified as Debojit Talukdar the youth committed suicide beside a girls hostel. His body was found hanging in the evening. The reason has yet to be ascertained. Police have already registered a case in this connection.