norCH IsCT INdiya filM festiveL 2024
NORTH EAST INDIA FILM FESTIVAL 2024
GORAI PHAKHRI
WILD SWANS
The decades of armed conflict between the State and the separatist groups in the region is now receding. A doctoral student from the city comes and witnesses the scars left by militarization and the effects of deep seated patriarchy on the everyday lives of women.
Director - Rajni Basumatary
Duration - 95 minutes
Language - Bodo
Producer - Jani Vishwanath; Rajni Basumatary
Screenplay - Rajni Basumatary
Cinematography - Chida Bora
Editing - Tinni Mitra
Sound - Amrit Pritam; Debajit Changmai
Cast - Helina Daimary, Sangeena Brahma, Mithinga Narzary, Anjali Daimari
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SYNOPSIS
Set in the foothills in Northeast India, the story explores the lives of women recovering from decades of armed conflict. Preeti, a doctoral student, comes to the village for her fieldwork. Her romantic ideas of rural life are crushed after witnessing the effects that militarization and patriarchy have on the everyday lives of these women.
Mainao's husband, a rebel, was killed by security personnel. Gaodaang's husband is serving in the Indian army posted along the country's border. Once inseparable friends, they are now struggling with the bitter legacies left behind by their husbands. Middle-aged Malothi is gang raped by an armed patrol one night. Her husband abandons her, labelling her "unclean".
But winds of change are about to blow..
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
‘Gorai Phakhri’ (Wild Swans) is my fourth film as a script writer and third film as a director. Here I tell interwoven stories about village women ganging up against patriarchy in the milieu of armed conflict prevalent in India's Northeast region. These are not mere stories but part of my own upbringing. I have observed how patriarchy is so deeply rooted in the culture that women themselves toe the line. During the research of the film, I realised that intellectual work without engagement is empty. This film will help take forward dialogue on the subject. In terms of visual aesthetics, the enchanting beauty of the rivers, rice fields and rolling foothills stand as witness to the women’s struggle of emerging gloriously from oppressive circumstances, making it a wholesome experience of cinematic storytelling. The uniqueness of this film is that it has an all-female-cast and most crew members are women.
DIRECTOR
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Rajni Basumatary is a script writer, director, actor and producer. She hails from Assam, India and strongly believes that culture and creativity can engender social change in communities. She wrote and produced her film "Anuraag" in 2004 which went on to receive several Assam State Film Awards. She debuted as a director in 2014 with "Raag, the Rhythm of Love". The 2019 film, “Jwlwi - The Seed” was written, directed and produced by her that won several awards including Assam State Film awards for Best actor (Female), Best Film in Other Language category, Jury’s Special Award at Bengaluru International Film Festival ‘ 20, Jury’s Special Mention at Guwahati International Film Festival ’19, Best Film in other than Assamese language from Prag Cine Awards and Best Screenplay award from Sailadhar Baruah Film Awards. She has acted in a few highly successful and acclaimed films, including Mary Kom (2014), Shaukeens (2014), III Smoking Barrels (2017), Goodbye (2022) and her own film Jwlwi - The Seed (2019). Her latest work as an actor is the Netflix series "Rana Naidu". Her third directorial film, "WILD SWANS'' (Gorai Phakhri) had its World Premiere in Vancouver International Film Festival ’23.
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Filmography:
Wild Swans - 2023 - 95 mins - Drama
Jwlwi: The Seed - 2019 - 90 mins - Drama
Raag - 2014 - 96 mins - Drama
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PRODUCER
Jani Viswanath
Born to a South Indian family in Coimbatore, India, Jani Viswanath was raised in Afghanistan. As a daughter of an educationist and a diplomat, her exposure to multiple cultures and countries have shaped her personal growth and artistic sentiments. She is multilingual and fluent in 6 languages. She has a PhD in Management and Brand Analysis. After almost two decades of successful career in brand development, buying and retail, Jani decided to give up her corporate life and founded the NGO, Healing Lives. She now focuses on the NGO. Jani is also an accomplished artist. She paints with knives on oils and has been the recipient of art awards from Spain, Italy and New York.
Jani has co-produced award winning documentary films including Xoixobote Dhemalite (2017), Jwlwi - The Seed (2019) and Andro Dreams (2023). Andro Dream, a docu-feature was the opening film of the prestigious International Film Festival of India (IFFI). She is the producer of the much acclaimed feature film, Wild Swans/Gorai Phakhri. It had its World Premiere in Vancouver International Film Festival ’23. It received the Best Film award at Kolkata International Film Festival ’23 and Best Director and Best Art Director awards at Sailadhar Baruah Film Awards (North East) ’23