SHILLONG, Feb 19: The first international Tribal Animation Film Festival will be held at the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) here in Meghalaya from 1-3 March.
The three-day event is being organized jointly by the NEHU’s anthropology department and Delhi-based Trust for Tribal Art Culture and Knowledge, and supported by the North Eastern Council.
“Artists, storytellers and filmmakers from indigenous communities across the world will showcase their films and share their experiences. The event will enable the celebration of the vitality and dynamism of traditional storytelling captured through animated films,” said the organizers.
The festival will feature screenings of films, besides workshops, panel discussions, and exhibition of historical photographs of Northeast India.
“The festival aims to create an engaging forum for filmmakers from the Northeast, and from other tribal and Adivasi communities, to present their work and forge links with professional collaborators and media enthusiasts from across India and the world,” said the organizers.
India’s award-winning filmmaker, Nina Sabnani, will share her work and discuss the collaborative process involved in making films with local artists and artisans.
Many international film directors have sent their films for the festival. The filmmakers include native American filmmakers Joseph Erb and Victor Masayesva, indigenous filmmakers Amanda Strong and Banchi Hanuse from Canada, Ezra Wube from Ethiopia, Jean Michel Kibushi from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Pritt Tender from Estonia.
The festival is expected to attract scholars, artists and storytellers from across the region, and to provide networking opportunities to filmmakers and students from the NE states with the media community in the rest of the country.
