Soon, fi rst of its kind audiovisual archive on the northeast...the fi rst Khasi fi lm made by a...
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It was three years ago, while making his film La Mana (‘Not allowed’) on his mar- riage to a Khasi woman and the anxieties in the hill tribe in general about such mixed marriages, that filmmaker Tarun Bhartiya came face to face with the diculties in procuring archival footage and relevant images and vi- deos for his subject. “There are very few places to go to for accessing the visual his- tory of the northeast,” he said. A representative of the Sa- sakawa Peace Foundation, Japan, who was attending a seminar in Guwahati with Mr. Bhartiya, suggested that he commenced research on it, and thus the base for the North East India Archive was laid. Come October and the first of its kind, public, non- commercial audiovisual ar- chive on and in the north- east will be formally functional. Addressing access It will be situated at the De- partment of Mass Media, St. Anthony’s College, Shillong, where students, scholars, re- searchers, filmmaker and film enthusiasts would be able to access the material offline. The archive will also have a digital/web platform of its own. Supported by the Sasaka- wa Peace Foundation, the launch will be held at St. An- thony’s College and simulta- neously announced at the Yamagata International Doc- umentary Film Festival (YIDFF). To mark the launch, YIDFF will have a special section of films from northeast India this year, tit- led ‘Rustle of spring, whiff of gunpowder: From the North East India Archives’, and cu- rated by Asako Fujioka. An important component of the archive will be the ci- nema of the northeast. There are also news reels and Films Division docu- mentaries, and footage from early local cable news chan- nels. “It’s dicult for film- makers and students to ac- cess even each other’s films,” says Nathaniel Nam- pui Majaw, Project Director of the archive and Assistant Professor in the Mass Media Department of St. Anthony’s College. “We are not even able to access films from the States next door,” said Mr. Bhartiya — a gap that the ar- chive hopes to plug. Mr. Bhartiya, who is the research consultant for the project, has also gathered material from sources such as the Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cam- bridge, the British Library and the National Library of Wales. Veteran Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma has already pledged all his films to the archive. There is one available roll of the first Khasi film made by a Khasi filmmaker — well- known historian Hamlet Ba- reh’s Ka Synjuk Riki Lai- phew Syiem, on the 30 chiefs who founded Khasi society. A film conservation workshop will be held in De- cember under the tutelage of filmmaker and founder- director of the not-for-profit Film Heritage Foundation, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur. User-friendly Besides films, the archive will also feature audiovisual material of anthropological value, like a set of pictures of indigenous people taken by Welsh Calvinist missionaries from late-19th and ear- ly-20th centuries from the National Library of Wales at Aberystwyth. There is also a 1919 documentary on tea, and Headhunters, a BBC documentary on the Nagas. “It won’t just be a reposi- tory but [a] properly cata- logued [archive] for easy ac- cess,” said Mr. Bhartiya, a native of Bihar who grew up, married and settled in Shil- long. “Users can interact with the images and offer multiple levels of informa- tion.” Mr. Majaw concurred, “It’s not just about collecting material and putting it un- der lock and key.” An inte- ractive space has been con- ceptualised for the users. “They can have their own vi- sion, and create their own narratives and playlists from the material available,” he added. In preparation for the for- mal start of the archive, a northeast India Archive Summit will be held in Shil- long on July 19 and 20. Soon, first of its kind audiovisual archive on the northeast Shillong will house the non-commercial venture, where users can access cinema, documentaries and anthropological material from October Welsh missionaries being transported from the Bangladesh plains to Khasi hills by human porters. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Namrata Joshi Mumbai
Transcript of Soon, fi rst of its kind audiovisual archive on the northeast...the fi rst Khasi fi lm made by a...
It was three years ago, whilemaking his fi��lm La Mana(‘Not allowed’) on his mar-riage to a Khasi woman andthe anxieties in the hill tribein general about such mixedmarriages, that fi��lmmakerTarun Bhartiya came face toface with the diffi��culties inprocuring archival footageand relevant images and vi-deos for his subject. “Thereare very few places to go tofor accessing the visual his-tory of the northeast,” hesaid.
A representative of the Sa-sakawa Peace Foundation,Japan, who was attending aseminar in Guwahati withMr. Bhartiya, suggested thathe commenced research onit, and thus the base for theNorth East India Archive was
laid. Come October and thefi��rst of its kind, public, non-commercial audiovisual ar-chive on and in the north-east will be formallyfunctional.
Addressing accessIt will be situated at the De-partment of Mass Media, St.Anthony’s College, Shillong,where students, scholars, re-searchers, fi��lmmaker andfi��lm enthusiasts would beable to access the materialoffl��ine. The archive will alsohave a digital/web platformof its own.
Supported by the Sasaka-wa Peace Foundation, thelaunch will be held at St. An-thony’s College and simulta-neously announced at theYamagata International Doc-umentary Film Festival(YIDFF). To mark the
launch, YIDFF will have aspecial section of fi��lms fromnortheast India this year, tit-led ‘Rustle of spring, whiff�� ofgunpowder: From the NorthEast India Archives’, and cu-rated by Asako Fujioka.
An important component
of the archive will be the ci-nema of the northeast.There are also news reelsand Films Division docu-mentaries, and footage fromearly local cable news chan-nels. “It’s diffi��cult for fi��lm-makers and students to ac-
cess even each other’sfi��lms,” says Nathaniel Nam-pui Majaw, Project Directorof the archive and AssistantProfessor in the Mass MediaDepartment of St. Anthony’sCollege. “We are not evenable to access fi��lms from theStates next door,” said Mr.Bhartiya — a gap that the ar-chive hopes to plug.
Mr. Bhartiya, who is theresearch consultant for theproject, has also gatheredmaterial from sources suchas the Centre of South AsianStudies, University of Cam-bridge, the British Libraryand the National Library ofWales. Veteran Manipurifi��lmmaker Aribam SyamSharma has already pledgedall his fi��lms to the archive.There is one available roll ofthe fi��rst Khasi fi��lm made by aKhasi fi��lmmaker — well-
known historian Hamlet Ba-reh’s Ka Synjuk Riki Lai-phew Syiem, on the 30chiefs who founded Khasisociety. A fi��lm conservationworkshop will be held in De-cember under the tutelageof fi��lmmaker and founder-director of the not-for-profi��tFilm Heritage Foundation,Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.
User-friendlyBesides fi��lms, the archivewill also feature audiovisualmaterial of anthropologicalvalue, like a set of pictures ofindigenous people taken byWelsh Calvinist missionariesfrom late-19th and ear-ly-20th centuries from theNational Library of Wales atAberystwyth. There is also a1919 documentary on tea,and Headhunters, a BBCdocumentary on the Nagas.
“It won’t just be a reposi-tory but [a] properly cata-logued [archive] for easy ac-cess,” said Mr. Bhartiya, anative of Bihar who grew up,married and settled in Shil-long. “Users can interactwith the images and off��ermultiple levels of informa-tion.”
Mr. Majaw concurred,“It’s not just about collectingmaterial and putting it un-der lock and key.” An inte-ractive space has been con-ceptualised for the users.“They can have their own vi-sion, and create their ownnarratives and playlists fromthe material available,” headded.
In preparation for the for-mal start of the archive, anortheast India ArchiveSummit will be held in Shil-long on July 19 and 20.
Soon, fi��rst of its kind audiovisual archive on the northeastShillong will house the non-commercial venture, where users can access cinema, documentaries and anthropological material from October
Welsh missionaries being transported from the Bangladeshplains to Khasi hills by human porters. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Namrata JoshiMumbai
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