Salesian Director’s films Promote Local Culture

(Agartala) - On September 4, 2008, A large gathering of people who had migrated to the city from their tribal lands gathered for the premiere of the 95-minute film Yarwng (Roots), produced by Fr. K. J. Joseph, S.D.B. and directed by Fr. Joseph Pulinthanath, S.D.B.

SIGNIS, the official Communication body of the Catholic Church, MISSIO and the Salesian Society financed the making of the film, an absorbing treatment of the large-scale displacement of peoples caused by the Gumti Hydel project in Tripura decades ago. The film is a study of love, loss, and never-ending hope.

Two Cabinet Ministers of Tripura’s Marxist Government praised the commitment of the Catholic church to the preservation and promotion of local cultures and languages in the Northeast Indian state of Tripura. Mr. Sarkar, the Minister for Information, Culture, and Tourism addressed the gathering and referred to an earlier film produced by the Salesians, Mathia. "Thanks to Mathia, the Kokborok language is known today beyond the confines of the state and the country."

Quoting the example of some South American tribes that “cannot even cry in their own language” (according to him), Mr. Sarkar, a renowned poet, said it is a national shame when any tribe, however small, loses its language. Recalling how Christian missionaries have always been committed to the promotion of Culture and language in the past, Mr. Sarkar praised the use of film by the Church as it will “directly strengthen culture and language of the peoples.”

Bishop Lumen Monteiro of Agartala, a guest of honor at the function, reiterated the resolve of the Church to stand with the weak, the poor and the marginalized. “Making films like Mathia and Yarwng, are hugely meaningful and relevant activities for the Church,” said the Bishop.

http://www.salesianmissions.org/salesianworldnews/news081021.html