Tripura Film Bags ‘Jury Special Mention Award’

Mumbai, 24 Oct.2008: The newly released Kokborok film from Tripura, Yarwng (Roots) has been awarded the Jury Special Mention award along with the Israeli film ‘Foul Gesture’ by Tzahi Grad at the 7th Asian Film Festival, which concluded here in Mumbai yesterday.

Israeli Director and Chief of Jury Dan Wolman said in his Award announcement speech, that they kept the social message and communication factors in mind while selecting films for the awards. Yarwng (Roots) got the award for its ‘moving and sensible portrayal’ of people’s journey in search of their roots.

The screening of the newly released Kokborok feature film Yarwng (Roots), at the 7th
Asian Film Festival in Mumbai, gave the film buffs of India’s cinema capital an opportunity to see life as it happens in rural Tripura. The Mumbai audience was thrilled to see a film steeped in the cultural ethos of a community in Northeast India – an area they have heard so much about, yet had got to see very little of.
“Truly a different film, well made and impressive” said Atul Ghag, film director from Mumbai who saw the Plaza screening of Yarwng on 21st October 2008. Each of the films was screened three times, once at each of the three festival venues – Plaza Theatre Dadar, YB Chavan Centre Nariman Point and Fun Cinema at Andheri.
“We are very interested to know more about the Northeast but unfortunately very little about that region is heard or seen around here. This film is indeed a great opportunity,” said Sanjay Warang another Mumbai based film director and musician, voicing the sentiments of many in the audience. He felt it is one of those films that ought to be seen by larger audiences across the country and lamented the fact that such films are not available except at festivals.

A. Ekhtaivan, a film director from Mongolia, said the film impresses by its ‘technical quality and the way the story narrative is handled’.

The story of the 95-minute feature film revolves round the large-scale displacement that happened in Tripura when the newly built Dumbur Dam submerged huge areas of arable land in the fertile Raima valley about 30 years ago.

Yarwng, directed by Joseph Pulinthanath sdb and produced by KJ Joseph sdb is the second feature film to be made by Don Bosco Sampari Pictures Tripura with partial financial help from Signis and Missio. Technical crew from Trivandrum included Kannan (Cinematographer), Krishna Kumar (Sound) and Sajiv Pazhoor (Associate Director). The first was the Indian Panorama film ‘Mathia’.

* Yarwng (Roots) was released by Cabinet Minister Shri Jitendra Choudhury at Nazrul Kalashketra on 4th September 2008.”The jury also recommended ‘Yarwing’, a film in Kokborok language of Tripura, as the inaugural film for Indian Panorama” in Goa.
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