A New Chapter for Cinema in Mizoram

Documentaries are powerful tools in educating the public while films on the other hand provide wholesome entertainment en masse to people. Documentaries have steadily gained importance in eliciting public opinion on a variety of issues that affect us and our societies. Films in a similar way have brought about marked changes in the lifestyles of people. Films at the same time weave powerful stories around human lives and bring forth new understanding of the myriad human psyche to the viewers. In a subtle way, they make us interpret our own lives in the backdrop of such emotional saga, often changing the way we perceive our own worlds.

‘ Malsawmi’, a documentary film which won the Best Film Award at the 1st Regional Short Film Festival of India 2010 held during 2nd – 3rd December 2010 in Shillong was recently screened at the I & PR Auditorium for film lovers of Mizoram. This was the first ever commercial screening of any film in Mizoram since the closing of cinema halls and the screening hopes to open up the once closed up area with renewed vigour, a positive step for the growth of films in the state. The Festival was organized by North East Film & TV Producers’ Directors’ Association (NEFTPDA) and the producer cum director of the film Napoleon R Z Thanga also bagged the Best Director Award for his film.

Based on a true story, the 36 minute film in English documents the life of Malsawmi, a young girl affected by profound sensory neural loss. The film traces her life as she and her family struggle to come to terms with her disability. Her family, on consulting a specialist, finds out that she can never hear. As she grows up she finds it increasingly difficult to come to terms. Just as all hope seems to fade, life takes a turn for the better, when one day some well wisher tells the family about the Gilead Special School – a school that takes care of the learning needs of children with disabilities of varying degrees and types and trains them in some vocation that will make them independent later in life. The school changes her outlook on life and helps her integrate with society seamlessly. In school along with her studies she learns sewing and that gives her new hope of a better life.

The film was screened at the 5th India International Womens’ Film Festival held in Delhi in December 2009 and at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai in February 2010 during the Mumbai International Film Festival. It was selected for screening along with nine other films from the region under the North East Special Category in the Mumbai International Film Festival and has been invited for screening at the New York International Childrens’ Film Festival to be held early this year. The success of the documentary has given renewed hope to film makers of the state, who are making fresh efforts at promoting cinema in the Mizoram.

Mizoram is the only state besides Jammu and Kashmir where cinema halls are non-existent. The case of Jammu and Kashmir is understood as the law and order situation is not conducive to cinema, the case of Mizoram is strange considering the fact that the Mizo society is one where dance and music is an integral part of everyday life. Factors such as the presence and reach of cable television, the proliferation of computers and the constraints of space for setting up a multiplex be the causes of this.