Shillong, May 4: In the wake of the raging controversy, Meghalaya filmmaker Nicholas Kharkongor is pulling out of Cannes Film Festival, according to a communication he has made with the Editor of The Shillong Times.
“I was excited to go to Cannes, representing Meghalaya, but in light of the controversy, I am pulling out of it. I was carrying a short film called Ka Dewlynnong (The island), a film that I am very proud of and is extremely close to my heart, not least because I had the honour to work with such talented actors in Shillong like Albert Mawrie, Elizer Bareh, Sweety Pala and a dozen others.
“The film was shot entirely in Meghalaya. It is produced by Sohum Shah Films, the producers of ‘The ship of Theseus’, which won the national award best film that year and Tumbadd, which also screened at Cannes and is quite a cult film today. ‘Ka Dewlynnong’ will be screened at the India Pavilion, and wherever else I will get a chance to show it. It is part of an anthology of films from all of India produced by Sohum Shah Films, and will hopefully be on a streaming platform towards the latter part of the year.
“I will continue to try and make films in Meghalaya and also use actors from the state in more mainstream projects from Mumbai. I hope I will have the honour to represent Meghalaya another time.”
