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An
Autumn Fable
Duphang-Ni Solo
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INDIA
/ 1997 / Bodo / Color /35mm/ 45 min
Director, Script, Narration: Pinky B. Choudhury
Script, Editing: Shobhit Jain
Photography: Sameer Mahajan
Producer: Neeraj Suji
Production Company, Source: Rajindra Films
C1 / 22, 1st Floor, Safdarjung Devp. Area, New Delhi 110016 INDIA
Phone: 91-11-6852546 / 6517129
Fax: 91-11-6868618
E-mail: nsuji@ndb.vsnl.n et.in
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Pinky
Brahma Choudhury
Post-graduate in Film Direction from Film and Television Institute
of India (FTII), Pune. She has been working as an independent filmmaker
since 1992. Her short fiction film Ether (35mm), a student
film produced by FTII, was screened and widely appreciated at several
international festivals. She has directed several ethnographic films
for television including a travelogue series on the cultural and political
aspects of northeastern India. Her latest venture was a television
series critiquing the development of northeastern India since the
nation became independent 50 years ago. An Autumn Fable is
her first work on celluloid since her student film at FTII. It was
screened at the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) and was
the opening film at the recent 30th International Film Festival of
India (IFFI) in the India Panorama section.
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A conniving muscleman with the strength and appetite of a dozen men;
a prince kidnapped as a child returns to claim his throne disguised
as a beast; a beautiful princess whose swordplay defeats all. Each
autumn, the Bodo tribespeople act out legends from an ancient tradition
under the open night sky. Songs, dances, and fighting scenes set against
lively music entertain... and provide a marked contrast to the day
shots of tension in the conflict-stricken region.
Director's
Statement
The Bodos are one of the tribes inhabiting the state of Assam in the
northeastern part of Indian territory. The community has been fighting
for political identity, demanding a separate state on the ground that
they speak a different language and live a different culture. Getting
caught in the web of intra-faction fights and narrow politics, the
movement turned violent and got consumed by it. The community suffered
immensely. Fear, uncertainty, and suspicion rule the minds of the
people. There is silence in the valley. Silence born out of fear and
mistrust. Nobody wants to either remember or speak. Everybody seems
to drown in amnesia.
Against this striking silence are juxtaposed the most conspicuous
features of the land - the slogans on the walls, the armed soldiers,
the relief camps and the bombarded broken bridges. They stand as testimony
to the ravage of the place. Along with these, are the whispers of
this land echoing since time immemorial in the form of stories and
plays. Tales that were always a part of the language but now lost
in the turmoil of the times. These stories are used in interplay with
reality to reflect the void left in the present times with a hope
that memories are invoked to link life with a desire to live.
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COPYRIGHT:Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival Organizing Committee
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