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| Film directors (from left) Biju Toppo, Prabal Mahto and Biyet Projna Tripathy at the concluding function of the 10th Jamshedpur International Film Festival in Beldih Club. Picture by Bhola Prasad |
Jamshedpur, Nov. 23: After eight days of exhilarating celluloid experience, curtains were drawn on the 10th Jamshedpur Film Festival.
A glittering evening with some of the known faces of the city witnessed the felicitation of four filmmakers who with their commendable work in film direction have won national and international acclaim.
Viewers braved the chill to celebrate cinema and appreciate the works of the filmmakers.
Sharing the dais with the guest of honour East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Sunil Kumar Burnwal and chief guest S.K. Behra, managing director, Indian Automobiles Limited, were the awardees ? Dashrath Hansda, Prabal Mahto, Biju Toppo and Biyet Projna Tripathy.
The filmmakers were felicitated with a shawl and a certificate of appreciation.
A lawyer by profession, Tripathy ventured into filmmaking in 2000 with her first 17-minute documentary ? Jejema (grandmother in Oriya).
?Documentary filmmaking is becoming popular and with the global medium that it offers, it has a bright future,? she said.
The winner of the International award at the Mumbai International Film Festival early this year, Tripathy has also been declared a national awardee for her production ? Ladakh-The land of Mystery.
According to Prabal Mahto, a docu-drama maker, while documentary might not be able to reach the masses, a docu-drama seeps in conveniently with the public.
Originally from Chakradharpur, Mahto is at present based in Delhi making films for Doordarshan.
He rose to fame with his national award-winning documentary, Our Witches, which was based on ?witches? in Jharkhand. His production Ahangam and Beer Binjhwar earned Mahto rave reviews as well.
A filmmaker in the garb of a social activist is the perfect description for Biju Toppo, who is known for his works dealing with social issues.
The incident at the Jharia mines, the displaced villagers of the Subarnarekha Multipurpose Project and the Koelkaro project are a few of the incidents his documentaries portrayed.
At present, Toppo is working on his documentary, Kora Rajee, a story on the tea gardens of West Bengal and Assam. Sundernagar-based Dashrath Hansda was the fourth recipient of the award. He has created a niche for himself by making feature films in Santhali. From football to theatre and to making feature films, Hansda will soon release his third venture, Sitanala re Sagun Supari.
Based on social drama, Hansda has constantly made an effort to bring out the tribal culture of Jharkhand.