Our Reporter
Dimapur, Jan. 14 (EMN): “Angh,” a fictional short film from Nagaland, written and directed by Theja Rio, has been selected as the only film from India to be screened at the Clermont Ferrand International Film Festival (CFIFF) in France. The film would be screened during the festival on a date yet to be announced.
The prestigious short film festival is scheduled from January 9 to February 6.
Speaking to Eastern Mirror, Rio expressed his happiness for the success and stated that the whole team involved in the film had worked very hard and was proud of what they have achieved. He added that the movie was a good experience for him.
He also shared that the movie is fiction, inspired by the traditions especially of the Konyak tribe. Rio stated that he got the inspiration while travelling to Mon district in 2017 for another project which was not related to the film. He found it very interesting how a few decades back, Nagas were headhunters but with the advent of Christianity they quickly shifted to modernity.
Sharing about his upcoming projects, Rio informed that he is writing a couple of films and working on a documentary on Konyak chief as well.
“Angh” is produced by Theja Rio and Nancy Nisa Beso and the film portrays a father and son in 1963 as they remained the last people in the village to convert to Christianity. It also tells the story of their struggles as they try their best to hold onto their age-old traditions and resist the social pressures of the new world.
Rio also shared that the film was shot in 2019 with Kodak super 16mm film with stocks shipped from London. He added that it took them 10 days to shoot the film , which is 22 minutes in length. He said it took three months for the actors to rehearse before the start of shooting.
Vincenzo Condorelli, an Italian cinematographer, took charge behind the camera, while Sagar Desai, an American-Indian music composer, composed all the music and Hassan Hassandost, an Iranian editor, was the editing supervisor for “Angh.”
It may be mentioned here that out of thousands films submitted, only 77 short films made the final cut to the festival. The Clermont Ferrand International Film Festival has also been the biggest short film festival in the world for the last 40 years. It has helped skyrocket the careers of many international film directors including Chloe Zhao and Kanu Behl.
The film was edited by Bhupesh Micky Sharma.