Director Dominic Sangma’s new project, Rapture, has been selected for La Fabrique Cinéma, 2019, to be organised by the Institut Français for this year’s Festival de Cannes.
Sangma, who is now based in Shillong, said Rapture is the second film of the trilogy that he started with MA•AMA, which is the director’s first feature film and was selected for the competitive section of Jio MAMI 2018. “Institut Français supports auteur filmmakers. They (the experts at the institute) had seen my earlier film and liked the way I tell my stories. They picked up my project, which is the only one from India, and now they will help me pitch my film for producers,” Sangma tried to explain the complicated process as his cup of coffee lay untouched on the table in a café in Laitumkhrah.
The young director is always excited when he talks about films. The rain had already started outside but he was oblivious to the usual chaos inside the café, the sound of dripping water from the awning and the cars zooming on the road.
Sangma said he shot the pitching clip last October. “The scene starts with villagers going to a forest in large groups to collect World Cup insects, which come out every four years in my village.”
Sangma is from Nongthymmai Garo village under Jirang constituency in Ri Bhoi. World Cup insects, which are locally called niangtaser, are a strange sub-species of the Cicada family. Every four years, villagers go out in groups and collect these insects for eating. “Then suddenly a 12-year-old boy disappears and the whole village was shocked and clueless,” the director continued his narration.
Sangma stopped, smiled and said apologetically, “Please forgive me, I cannot say more than this or I will be revealing the story. Please wait till the movie is made.”
Once again, Sangma is working with first-time actors and the film will be shot in his village. He said the film was born out of the experiences of his life.
Talking about his films and his “intention” as a director, Sangma said a filmmaker’s world and works are “very much” influenced by his surroundings and the events happening around him or her. “My films too have that influence but they do not directly reflect the politico-socio-economic events. For instance, think about the children and their security in today’s world. They have access to everything thanks to the worldwide web and smart phones. They look up to the adults for direction in life. What if we fail,” he said.
The filmmaker does not want to give false hope to his audience. He does not want to tell stories of survivors. He wants his audience to feel the claustrophobic world and the darkness around them so that they understand that they have to create hope not only for themselves but for their future generation.
Sangma’s last film, MA•AMA, is a personal story and the director’s father is the main protagonist. The critically acclaimed film recently won the Best Film award at International Film Festival of Thrissur this year.
In his last interview, Sangma had described MA•AMA as a “living organism” that transformed and evolved during shooting. “(Renowned director) Girish Kasaravalli was in the jury. That a director of his stature would like my film is an honour in itself,” said Sangma.
The shooting for Rapture will start in October and Sangma said it will take at least a year to finish the movie.
~ NM
