Hailing from the north east of India, this director continues to make waves internationally, and most recently in South Korea, at one of Asia’s largest gatherings of filmmakers and cineastes…
By Tatiana Rosenstein
IT WAS RIMA DAS’ second film, ‘Village Rockstars 2’ that made a big splash at the 29th Busan International Film Festival.
It took home the Kim Jiseok Award and is a follow up to her trailblazing first feature, ‘Village Rockstars’.
‘Village Rockstars 2’ continues the story of Dhunu (Bhanita Das), a girl from Assam who dreams of being a rock guitarist despite the challenges posed by her impoverished rustic existence.
While the first film was celebrated for its authenticity and intimate look at childhood dreams, the sequel expands on Dhunu’s coming-of-age journey as she navigates the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Rima Das once again took on several roles in the project, serving as writer, director, producer, cinematographer, and editor. (See our interview with Das on our Youtube channel {pending}). Das shared the award with Taiwanese filmmaker Tom Lin Shu-Yu, whose ‘Yen and Ai-Lee’ shared the US $10,000 (£9,000) prize money.
Among the other Indian films screening during Busan (October 2-11), were Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix winning feature, ‘All We Imagine as Light’ which also screened at London Film Festival (LFF) and Mami – Mumbai Academy of Moving Image Festival (October 19-24), to give its full title.
Other Indian films that made a splash in Busan included ‘In Retreat’ by Maisam Ali, ‘Sad Letters of an Imaginary Woman’ by Nidhi Saxsena, ‘Second Chance’ by Subhadra Mahajan, and ‘State of Statelessness’ by Tenzin Tsetan Choklay.
‘A Fly on The Wall’ by Shonali Bose and Nag Ashwin, stood out in the Documentary Competition, demonstrating the versatility of Indian filmmakers across multiple formats. Blockbuster Indian sci-fi and mythology film, ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ was featured in the Open Cinema section, allowing a Korean and international audience to connect with popular mainstream Hindi cinema.
In the special section, Teen Spirit, Teen Movie – Shuchi Gulati’s Sundance hit, ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ was showcased – it enjoyed a general release in the UK earlier this year and acv interviewed Gulati and lead Preethi Panigrahi – see here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYnzUrxyfiE&t=3s.
Nepali film ‘Pooja Sir’ also screened in Busan after its world premiere in Venice in September (see below for more).
Among the other award winning titles were: – ‘The Land of Morning Calm, ‘Works and Days’, ‘Yurim’, ‘A Garden in Winter’, ‘K Number’, ‘Waterdrop’ and ‘The Final Semester’.
The Busan International Film Festival took place October 2-11 this year.
*‘Pooja Sir’ has been acquired by Channel 4 for broadcast and online on demand in the UK, while well-known Indian auteur Anurag Kashuyap has come on board as an executive produce and the film will get a global release and will first screen in Nepal from March 14 – these deals were brokered in Busan or just after.
Our interview with the filmmakers of ‘Pooja Sir’ in Venice shortly after its world premiere there…
Busan Film Festival https://www.biff.kr/eng/
We are publishing a series of articles covering film international film festivals in October as our coverage of London Film Festival took centre stage on the website – it is our home international film festival…
