Church-produced film to open Indian section at Goa IIFI

Kolkata, Nov 19 (PTI) A film made by a Roman Catholic
priest has been selected to open the Indian Panorama section
of the 39th edition of International Film Festival of India
which will commence at Goa from November 23, becoming the
first church-produced opening feature at the country's oldest
filmfest.

'Yarwng,' made in Tripura's indigenous dialect Kokborok,
examines, against the backdrop of a romantic relationship, the
trauma suffered by thousands of people that once inhabited the
Raima Valley of Tripura, but had to move out in the late 70s
to make way for a hydel power project on the Gumti.

"The name of the film means 'Roots' in Kokborok. In this
feature film, I have examined the issue of displacement and
other consequences of development," Fr Jose Pulinthanath, a
priest of the Salesian order of Don Bosco, told PTI.

Produced by Agartala-based Don Bosco Sampari pictures,
the 35 mm, 90-minute film depicts the dismantling of the
socio-cultural fabric of Bolongbwsa village whose residents,
jolted by their age-old lifestyle and felicity by floodgates
of change, fade away into nameless multitudes.

Intertwined with this narrative is the story of Karmati
and Wakhirai, who would have been husband and wife had not the
water from the project flushed them out hours before their
marriage.

"Trudging separate ways, clutching meagre possessions, if
they had cherished any hope of reunion some day, they were
wrong. The demand to adapt to new situations is so fierce with
the passage of time, the passion and warmth they had for each
other diminish, well, almost," the 30-something priest said.

So what is a priest doing making romantic feature films?

"My making of this film does not come in conflict in any
way with my vocation. If I cannot be with the people in their
joy and suffering, what kind of priest will I be? Even Christ
did this. He was with the people all the time. The romanticism
in the film is to reach people's hearts," Fr Jose said.

Fr Jose though a Malayalee speaks fluent Bengali and says
he knows Kokborok "better than Bangla".

"I have made the film after extensive research...the
incidents and characters of the film are based on the
narratives of the villagers who had themselves undergone the
trauma of displacement," he said, adding that many people who
acted in the film's migration scenes were real-life victims of
displacement.

'Yarwng' was shot in villages that were actually impacted
by the displacement such as Bolongbasa, Isoraipara,
Hukumapara, Boalkali, Sambojoypara, Prakashjoypara,
Jagabandhupara, Haripur, Padmanagar, Melaghar and Raima-Saima
Water Reservoir.

"A crew of 60, consisting technical hands and artistes,
spent about a month in these villages, capturing through the
lens the emotional turmoil of Karmati and Wakhirai and the
story of their love torn asunder by the thwarted flow of
waters of the Raima and Saima," Fr Jose said.

He said that the film, which won a Special Jury Mention
in the Asian Film Festival, will also be shown at the Kerala
International Film Festival beginning at Thiruvanathapuram
from December 12.

A couple of years ago, Fr Jose made 'Mathia' the
first-ever film in Kokborok. It was also produced by Sampari
Pictures.