Skip to main content

Nehemich: FTII Pune student production competes for Cannes prize

Cannes: Two years after winning the Cannes film festival's top award for film school productions from around the world, India is once again in the reckoning in the same section with a heart-rending tale of rural women becoming victims of superstitions.

 

'Nehemich', a 23-minute film in Marathi directed by Yudhajit Basu, an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, is among 16 entries in La Cinef programme for film schools at the festival this year. The film was screened yesterday in the presence of Basu and its co-writer Prithvijoy Ganguly at the festival's Buñuel theatre.
 

'CatDog' by Ashmita Guha Neogi, also an alumna of FTII, Pune, had won the La Cinef's top prize in 2021. In 2017, Payal Kapadia, another FTII, Pune, student had premiered her diploma film, 'Afternoon Clouds' in La Cinef section, previously known as Cinefondation. Kapadia went on to premiere her debut feature film, 'A Night of Knowing Nothing', in the Directors' Fortnight parallel selection in Cannes last year, winning the Golden Eye Award for the Best Documentary Film at the festival.
 

'Nehemich', which was completed in February this year, tells the story of superstitions surrounding menstruating women in several parts of rural India. "A woman is always isolated, except for food, in dingy, inhumane conditions during her period in our rural areas. I wanted to find out what happened to these women during the lockdown," says the Kolkata-born Basu.
 

Selected from over 2,000 entries from film schools across the world, 'Nehemich' is competing with productions from some of the world's finest film schools for La Cinef's top prize. Oscar-nominated Hungarian director-screenwriter IldikĂł Enyedi heads the La Cinef jury, which will also decide the winners of the short film competition at the festival.
 

Basu, who completed his directing course at FTII, Pune this year, shot 'Nehemich', a Marathi word meaning 'always', in Pune and Satara districts of Maharashtra last year. The film revolves around the story of a teenage girl isolated in her period during lockdown trying to elope with a worker in a nearby windmill.
 

The word 'period' is a taboo expression in many villages across the country. In rural Maharashtra, the villagers instead use the Marathi phrase, mala kavlyani shivlay, which means 'touched by a crow'. "It was like a code word," says Basu, who has previously co-directed two short films, 'Khoji' (The Search) and 'Quiro' (The Mist), both in Nepali, before. The film shows the dimly-lit gaokar or 'period house' outside a village where menstruating women are isolated.
 

La Cinef this year has two animated short films among the 16 films in the selection. Ten films are directed by women while 13 countries from four continents are represented including Morocco, for the first time in La Cinef this year. The awards for La Cinef programme will be announced on Thursday. (UNI)



from Bollywood https://ift.tt/CR27KFP

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sunny Deol's film Gadar 2 creates history, crosses 400 crores at Indian Box Office

Shattering records with each passing day, Gadar 2 has collected Rs. 12.10 crores net on its 12th day contributing to an overall incredible total of Rs. 400.70 crores net.    No other Indian film has amassed 10+ crores net on second weekdays. The Gadar 2 saga continues, etching its name in history; has truly emerged as ‘Hindustan ki Asli Blockbuster.’   Helmed by Director-Producer Anil Sharma, and produced by Zee Studios, the movie stars Superstar Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel in lead roles.The movie was released on celluloid on 11th August 2023. from Bollywood https://ift.tt/hU5WTA6

Accused in firing outside Salman Khan's house case wants to turn approver

Mumbai: A person facing MCOCA charges in connection with the firing outside Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's residence in Bandra suburbs here has expressed his desire to turn approver in the case, sources in the Mumbai Crime Branch said.   Without disclosing the identity of the accused, the sources said that one of those arrested in the April 14 shooting case and facing charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) has express his desire to be an approver and necessary procedure prescribed under the law has been set into motion.   As per procedure, the probe agency will first record the accused's confession before a high ranking officer not part of the ongoing investigation, and later the same will be recorded before a magistrate, the sources added.   The confessional statement will be the part of evidence and it will be used against him as well as other accused facing charges, they said.   On Monday, three accused arrested in the case were sent

This movie based on Widow remarriage grabs eyeballs in Mithila region

Based on the plight of widows and social obstacles in their remarriage, " Milan " a Maithili film has proved to be an all-time hit, simultaneously running in several cinema halls of the Mithila region of Bihar, the movie is attracting huge crowds from all sections of the society. The charm of Maithili cinema shines through in " Milan ". For the first time, a Maithili film is making waves, marking a record in its history by running in a dozen theaters simultaneously in the Mithila region. The fervour of "Milan" has become a celebration across Mithila since its release on March 22 in Darbhanga. Film buffs especially women, are coming in large numbers to see the movie wholeheartedly. What sets this film apart, is its popularity among all age groups- women, children, and the elderly. Directed by Shashi Pathak under the banner of RSJ Productions, "Milan", has been produced by, Shyam Sundar Jha and Ram Sundar Jha, along with co-producer Manora