THE MUMBAI International Film Festival (MIFF) begins on Monday (February 3) in Bollywood. Organised by the Films Division, ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the festival will provide space for more than 400 films, from nearly 185 countries. “MIFF is the only festival in India that covers documentary, short and animation films. Identified as a unique festival, MIFF is recognised as one of the top five documentary film festivals in the globe,” informed Raghu Krishna, MIFF director.

 

The festival would showcase some of the brilliant films by the prominent directors of the northeast including Jahnu Barua, Aribam Syam Sharma, Gautam Bora, Altaf Majid, Chandra Narayan Barua, Ranjit Das, Prabin Hazarika, Pradeep Gogoi, Haobam Paban Kumar, Bobby Wahengbam, Tarun Bharatiya, etc.

 

Under the special package for northeast, maximum number of films is contributed from Assam. The themes of the films vary from the mighty river Brahmaputra to different ethnic groups, profiles of the legendary singer Pratima Barua Pandey to a mysterious Assamese writer, Saurabh Kumar Chaliha, and the history of refreshing tea to the enchanting sculptures of Da-Parbatiya in lower Assam.

 

The films from Assam include ‘A River’s Story: The Quest for the Brahmaputra’ (directed by Jahnu Barua), ‘Abiding Brew’ (Chandra Narayan Barua), ’Lakhtokiyat Golam’ (Altaf Majid), ’Return of the Dead Bird’ (Ranjit Das), ’Hastir Kanya’ (Prabin Hazarika), ’The Jaws of Death’ (Gautam Saikia), ’The Brew of the Eastern Clouds’ (Tinat Masood), ’Gumoriya Goes Global’ (Mukul Talukdar), ’Saumar Pith’ (Ritutpal Bordoloi), ’Why I Write’ (Prodyut Kr Deka), ’The Tai Phakeys’ (Mridul Gupta), ’Sand Castle’ (Pramod Das), ’The Other Side’ (Amardeep Gogoi), ’Gaze’ (Suraj Duwarah), ’Duporia’ (Aparaj) and ’Tempe’ (Waribam Dorendra).

 

The next important repertoire is from Manipur, where the directors have chosen the themes from the biographical documentary on Aribam Syam Sharma to a legendary Manipuri dancer and the socio-political unrest of Manipur to the agony of a young lady. The films include ’Guru Laimayum Thambalngoubi Devi’ (Aribam Syam Sharma), ’Along the Way’ (Haobam Paban Kumar), ’Padmashree Aribam Syam Sharma’ (Brajabodhu Singh), ’Jagoida Katthoklabi Suryamukhi Devi’ (Y Romabai Devi) and ’Joseph ki Macha’ (Bobby Wahengbam). 

 

The Meghalaya package includes ’Spirit of the Graceful Lineage’ (Prerona Barbarua Sharma), ’Bad Places’ (Tarun Bharatiya) and ’Of Living Bondage’ (Kaju). The focus areas of the films are the unseen and unexplored traits of the matriarchal society of Meghalaya, the deteriorated situation in the state and the Balpakram National Park, the only national park in India touching its international border with Bangladesh.

 

Two important films from Arunachal Pradesh are ’Beyond Death’ (Gautam Bora) and ’The Green Warriors: Apatanis’ (Jyoti Prasad Das), which highlight the philosophical world of Buddhist Tantrism of Monpas and the distinctive agriculture practice of the Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh. Documentaries from Mizoram include ’Israel Ram Tana Dilna’ (Pradeep Gogoi) and ’Piercing the Unknown’ (Balindrajit Pathak). Similarly, Nagaland package comprises ’A Winter Night’s Dream’ (Kivini Shohe) and ’The Hills Silently Recount’ (Metevinuo Sakhrie). Tripura and Sikkim contribute ’City of Lakes’ (Debasish Saha), ’Unakoti – The Mask Icon’ (Deepak Bhattacharjee) and ’Sikkim: The Land of Mist’ (Pradeep Gogoi) to the festival.

 

The annual film production statistics in the alienated northeast India may be declining, but the serious filmmakers of the trouble torn region have made it a habit to overcome all the difficulties. Amidst all disturbances and limitations, the northeastern filmmakers have taken great pain to continue their passionate love for filmmaking. The passionate audience in Mumbai would get a glimpse of the hard work and the commitment of the filmmakers of the region, with the northeast package of the festival.