Indigenous film festival ‘Samuday Ke Saath’ begins in Jamshedpur

Jamshedpur, Jharkhand: Day one of ‘Samuday Ke Saath’, a national level film festival, facilitated by Tata Steel Foundation (TSF), started with deliberations on the theme ‘Cinema, a reflection of transmission and preservation of Indigenous Culture.’ Various films were screened today at the Tribal Culture Centre, Sonari (Jamshedpur), woven around the central theme in the run up to Samvaad organised by TSF in November every year.

The film ‘Strength in Diversity-Stress Resistant Crops of Nagaland’ made by Chentei Khiammiugan is true to its name. The film depicts fast-eroding traditional cropping practices of Nagaland. While the lens moves along the everyday cropping activities of the film-maker’s grandmother, the focus lies on organic farming. Within tribal communities, while written documentation is sparse, videos and reels are the best suited forms.

Two other films were also screened. ‘Voices of Teesta’, the film by Minket Lepcha from Sikkim captures and reflects voices of angst, adaptation and reconciliation of the human self and communities with emerging trends of hydro technology and their manifestations in the form of mini and mega hydel projects which lie from the source of the River Teesta till the tip of North Bengal.

The film, ‘Ladakh Pashmina’, by Munmun Dhalaria, based in Changthang, Ladakh, focuses on the traditional woman artisans who are behind the making of the popular Ladakh Pashmina. The film gets into the history of Pashmina and talks about women artisans who are majorly responsible for the making of the Pashmina currently and the impact that the sale of Pashmina has on the communities that live in the region. It also highlights the importance of passing the knowledge of the semi-nomadic lifestyle of the Changthang community to the younger generation in an effort to promote sustainability and reclaim their identity.

Speaking on the occasion, Sourav Roy, Chief Executive Officer, Tata Steel Foundation, introduced the programme as one of the most favorable means of preservation of traditional practices and speaking about subjects that impact communities.

The next two days of ‘Samuday Ke Saath’ will witness screening and threadbare discussions on the films to preserve and promote Adivasiyat (Tribalism) wherein filmmakers from across various states and tribal groups will have a chance to showcase their meaningful documentaries woven around the theme.