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indie8 2023

Indie8 Documentary Film Festival 2023, 8th - 10th March 2023 - St. Anthony’s College, Shillong.

The Festival was organised by the Department of Mass Media, St. Anthony’s College, Shillong, India and The Northeast India AV Archive. It was with supported by - Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan. The collaborators included: Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival and Film Southasia. Some of the films screened included the following:

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Writing with Fire -  Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh

In a cluttered news landscape dominated by men, emerges India's only newspaper run by Dalit women. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her journalists break traditions, be it on the frontlines of India's biggest issues or within the confines of their homes, redefining what it means to be powerful.

A double Sundance winner, Writing With Fire has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary, making it the first Indian feature documentary to be nominated for an Oscar.

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I Rise - Borun Thokchom

Born in a poor family, Laishram Sarita Devi, a mother, a woman Pugilist, spared no effort to become a celebrated sports star of International fame. She came to limelight as the first Indian professional woman boxer after she became a mother. Inspite of her fame and glory, she is passionate about empowering people who are marginalised and runs an Academy that trains and encourages destitute children to create an identity through Boxing. The story elaborates the predicament where she navigates between her mission and her relationship with her beloved son Tomthil. This is story of conflict in a mother and as a change maker. The film is an award-wining film.

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Mask Art of Majuli - Utpal Borpujari

The numerous satras (Vaishnavaite monasteries) of Majuli, the world’s largest inhabited river island, are not only religious places of great significance but also form the heart of Satriya culture that was created by the 15th century saint, poet, playwright, social reformer and cultural icon Srimanta Sankardev. One of the key elements of Satriya culture is the masks worn by performers during Bhaona – dance dramas based on Hindu mythology. These masks or mukha represent an intricate art form with the artisans creating them in a unique and completely organic way using biodegradable materials. A dying art form, the film documents the last few families that are engaged in keeping this practice alive at the Natun Chamaguri Satra, including award-winning mask maker, Dr. Hem Chandra Goswami.

My Name is Eeoow - Oinam Doren

Imagine a village where you sing every time you call someone's name. In the village of Kongthong, everybody has a song tune as a name - the 'Jingrwai Iawbei'. The name comes from a mother as an expression of her love for her new-born. But what happens to that perpetual symbol of mother's love when the children come to the town for higher studies or to seek jobs, and are exposed to contemporary music?

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Before You Were My Mother - Prasuna Dongol

Born and brought up in Manipur and currently living in New York, Ibemhal (59) left her childhood home in Manipur and moved to Nepal after her marriage. Ibemhal’s whole life has been dedicated to raising her two daughters while trying to find her own identity in new places. Who is Ibemhal beyond her identity as a mother and a wife? What was her life like in Manipur and Nepal- both conflict zones when she lived there? Prasuna, her elder daughter, seeks to find out.

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“The Way Home - A Lisu story”- Wesabo Yobin and R. Thochipa Christopher Bareh

“The Way Home - A Lisu story” is a  picturesque journey of a young man’s four days journey towards home with his  colleagues, as he takes them along to the road less traveled. Traversing through the terrain, they walk through the muddles and puddles, exploring the countless adventures along the way. With every step leaving a trace, of  broken shoes and shredded socks; with  every new faces they encounter, each with their own story to tell, of sacrifice and  restless nights, of curved backs and loaded  baskets. The film recounts the many  ventures as they finally make it home, a place with countless histories and tales. This is the Lisu story, of Tales that once ceased, but will  reignite once again and make its name in  history.

The Other Films screened were:

  • Highways of Life (Director: Amar Maibam) 

  • Ne Sotal (Director: Shrutiman Deori)

  • The Endless Note: Folk Instruments of Sikkim (Director: Karma Palzor Bhutia)

  • Fire on Edge (Director: Pranab Jyoti Deka and Sujit Debbarma)

  • Man and the Wild (Director: Shantanu Sen) 

  • Time in an Object (Director: Abhinash Bharali)

  • Rosemwala (Director: Sanjib Das)

  • Birubala- The Fearless Crusader (Director: Dhiraj Kashyap)

  • Gosain: The Colours of Spring (Director: Bishal Swagiary)

  • Absent River ( Director: Devadeep Sarma Gupta)

  • Meiram- The Fireline (Director: James Khangenbam)

  • Hun Khirh (Director: Napoleon RZ Thanga)

  • Double Layered Town/ Making a Song to Replace Our Positions (Directors: Komori Haruka and Seo Natsumi)

  • Bareh)

  • I Am Property (Director: Karry Padu)

  • Sound from the Hallow Bamboo (Director: Vito Sumi)

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