North-east films not made for commercial gains :Pulinthanath

Dec 05, 2008 at 1643 hrs IST

Film making in north-east is more about ensuring profit to society rather than for commercial gains, says Joseph Pulinthanath, whose film Yarwng (Roots) made in the tribal language of Tripura, Kokborok opened the Indian Panorama section of IFFI in Goa recently.

“We are more inclined to look for development and welfare of the people through the medium of cinema. It is the lack of development and delivery of justice that is the root cause of many problems. Till 2002, Tripura was the hotbed of terrorism. But things are much better now,” Joseph told reporters after the screening.

“We have borders with several other countries making our region very sensitive. We have to depend on the rest of India for filmmaking expertise. Exhibition and distribution of films is also a problem even though locals prefer to watch indigenous stuff and entertainment content in their own language. There are no cinema halls in Tripura,” he said.

The north-east region has an unfriendly terrain. The distances are too long and it is a landlocked region, he added.

Cinema culture is developing in the region with films from Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh also screened in the Indian Panorama section over the years, he said.
Joseph’s last film Mathia (the bangle) was screened at IFFI in 2004. He bagged the national award for a debut director, for the film. He said his crew came from Kerala to shoot Yarwng in the interiors of Tripura. “It was an enriching and harrowing experience. The film speaks for the weak and marginalised sections of the society,” he said.

The opening film in the non-feature section was 16mm: Memories, Movement and a Machine. The film is a tribute to the passion for cinema and the history of cinema movement in Kerala, Director, K R Manoj said. PTI

http://www.screenindia.com/news/northeast-films-not-made-for-commercial-gains-pulinthanath/393279/