Other States - Orissa   

Filmmaker bags 60x60 project

BHUBANESWAR: City-based young filmmaker Surya Shankar Dash has been selected for a tri-national film project known as 60x60 by London based MotiRoti being supported by the UK Arts Council and British Council. He is one of the 19 Indian short filmmakers, who have been selected for the project.

The other two participating nations in the programme were Britain and Pakistan with 20 filmmakers from each nation being commissioned to make 60 seconds films on the theme of “Unique View on Identity In An Age Of Globalisation”.

My film is about the adivasis (tribals) of Orissa who are facing displacement by mining activities and the so-called development projects while their identity is being ironically glorified by the government to attract the tourists, Surya told The Hindu.

The film would be a tribute to the tribals who were killed in Maikanch and Kalinga Nagar by the police to pave the path for industrialisation. And it would also simultaneously explore the identity of these ethnic people of Orissa in the wave of globalisation that is displacing them but highlighting them as cultural commodities, he elaborated.

The filmmaker, who presented the recently concluded Lok Chitra Utsav (people’s film festival) in the city, which showcased documentaries from all the corners of the world highlighting the plight of displacement and industrialization, would start his shooting on Martyr’s Day at Maikanch on December 16 followed by another shoot at Kalinga Nagar on January 2, he revealed.

“I will combine those visuals with visuals of State-sponsored violence on the adivasis, visuals of museums and tourism centers promoting images of the adivasis along with visuals of villages of the tribals that have, hitherto, remained untouched by development programmes of the government and corporate sector. It will be a montage,” Surya added.

The jury in London appreciated ‘The Lament of Niyamraja - a Dongria Kondh song’, the film made earlier by Surya and awarded him the project.

60x60 is a part of 360 degrees - full circle - project by MotiRoti that has commissioned 60 filmmakers to make 60 films of 60 seconds each. The films will be shown on international television channels, shopping malls, flights and on websites.

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