Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, NOVEMBER 3
The first ever Kohima Documentary Film Festival got underway today here at the State Academy Hall, with the concept of ‘education with illustrations’. The three-day event, a unique venture in the state, is being organized jointly by the Film & Cultural Society of North East (FCSNE) and Indian Documentary Producers’ Association.
Bringing together professionals and audiences to participate in an event spurring thoughts and reflections, the first day of the festival saw a registration of about 700 film enthusiasts including students from several educational institutions in the state capital.
Six documentaries were screened on Monday, viz, Nero’s Guest (Deepa Bhatia), Kung Fu Nuns (M Chandramouli), The Wild Meat Trail (Rita Banerjee), Superman of Malegaon (Faiza Ahmed Khan), and two Japan Foundation presentations ‘Setting Sail from the Ruins’ and ‘Can You See Our Lights? First Festival after the Tsunami’. The films are being displayed on a 17×11 feet wide screen.
Director of Art & Culture, Vevo Sapuh, who graced the opening ceremony of the festival as the chief guest, said documentary is an effective tool for education, moulding public opinions, shaping perceptions as well as an excellent medium for sensitizing the populace on socio-cultural, economic concerns and trends.
He asserted that films were very expensive to develop three decades ago, but a leap in technology has seen to an increase in accessibility and affordability of media technology leading to a rise in the production documentary films. The official said the festival is a unique initiative as besides the screening of world-class documentaries, it also offers a platform for viewers to interact with those behind the camera and learn something of the process involved in filmmaking. He lauded the organizers with the inspiring idea and urged upon young people to avail the opportunity.
Speaking on behalf of Naga filmmakers, Sesino Yhoshü Dimasha said there are film enthusiasts all over Nagaland constituting a fan-base covering Hollywood, Bollywood and Korean films, and Nagas are second to none in terms of viewership. However, she feels that coming together to watch and discuss films is a relatively new idea, and a much appreciated one, she added. She expressed hope that the event will take filmmaking to new levels and inspire a film culture in the state.
Earlier, Music Task Force Nagaland project director, Gugs Chishi, FCSNE Nagaland coordinator Maningbiliu Pamai and Baptist College Kohima principal, Delhu Khate also delivered short speeches.
On Tuesday, the first screening will begin at 10 am. Some works of Naga filmmakers are also lined up for the second day of the film festival.
The event is being supported by the government of Nagaland, Japan Foundation and Polish Institute (New Delhi).
