'It's Been A Great Journey to the Oscars Race,' Says Rima Das

GUWAHATI: After scripting history in 2018, Rima Das who made the film Village Rockstars looks forward to working with international production houses this year.

In an interview with The Citizen, the self-taught filmmaker from Assam’s Chhaygaon said being honest to herself had made it possible to achieve all the milestones during the last year or so.

“It’s been a great journey, from the National Award to the Oscars race, it’s been a fantastic year for me. But above all, the kind of love and respect I got from the people, is something I will cherish. This, I think is the biggest of all the achievements,” said Das.

Village Rockstars, a film directed, produced, edited and cinematographed by Rima won the Golden Lotus at the National Film Awards, a first in 30 years for any Assamese film. In 1988, Jahnu Barua’s Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai (The Catastrophe) had won the award.

“More challenges are ahead in 2019, and I always like to accept a challenge. Some big names both from India and abroad have shown an interest in working with me. Though nothing has been finalised yet, I’m looking forward to collaborating for a bigger production value. Since I’m getting opportunities to work with other people, I would like to try that as well,” added Das.

Village Rockstars was also the official entry from India at the Oscars, for the best foreign language film category.

The film has made a mark, having been screened at as many as 80 festivals and having won 44 awards. It was also commercially successful as it ran for several weeks in cinema halls.

The 87-minute film narrates the struggle of 10-year-old Dhunu, to achieve her goal under patriarchal stereotypes of what a girl should do, and amid poverty and other hostile conditions. It was shot in the filmmaker’s native village Kalardiya in Chhaygaon, around 50 kilometres from here.

“I have little regret about missing out on an Oscar. Had I got some more time, maybe we would have clinched it. Who knows! Witnessing the developments that were happening with our film in the US, I somehow feel that given some more time we could have reached out to more people who would have been very helpful in that regard,” she said.

Her next film Bulbul Can Sing has already arrived on the big stage, with a world premiere at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival, and following that a screening at the Busan International Film Festival, the largest festival in Asia, in 2018.