Film from North-East India selected for Italian festival
August 14, 2012: A musical on Naga tribe of northeastern India has been selected
for an international film festival in Italy dedicated to mountains. The selection
committee has shortlisted “Songs of Mashangva” that showcases tribal songs of Naga
people among works from 44 countries for the 18th edition of the Lessinia
Film Festival.The August 18-26 festival to be held at Bosco Chiesanuova, a municipality in Verona province of Italy, will screen the Indian musical film under the "Competition" category. The Indian film, produced and directed by Oinam Doren, a national-award-winning filmmaker from Manipur, has already won the 58th Indian national award and was screened at several film festivals around the world.
The film has been hailed for its haunting soundtrack and the mesmerizing photography shot over 18 months in Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Kolkata and in Ukhrul district of Manipur. Doren got the idea of making the film in 2000 when he heard for the first time the music of Rewben Mashangva, a folk musician and singer from Manipur. Mashangva had described the melodious tunes as “Naga folk blues” rooted in the folk music of Tangkhul, a Naga tribe living on the Indo-Myanmar border whose lifestyle has been greatly influenced by Christianity and pop culture.
Mashangva, 52, known as the Bob Dylan of the Nagas, travels to remote villages to talk to the old people and collect songs and instruments. TheMinistry of Tribal Affairs chose him for the National Tribal Award 2011-12 for contribution to the development of tribal music. By chance he met Doren in 2008 at a studio in the Manipur, capital of Imphal, and decided to collaborate on three musical films. “Songs of Mashangva” is the first of the trilogy.
The Lessinia Film Festival is the only international film competition that exclusively focuses on short films, documentaries and feature films on the life, history and traditions of people living on mountainous regions. Started in 1995 at Cimbri Lessinia to honor the mountains of Verona, the festival gradually expanded to include mountains around the world.
Its main sponsors are the Mountain Community of Lessinia and the city of Forest Chiesanuova.
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