Village Rockstars

Village Rockstars
Official poster of Village Rockstars
Directed by Rima Das
Produced by Rima Das
Jaya Das
Written by Rima Das
Starring Bhanita Das
Manabendra Das
Cinematography Rima Das
Edited by Rima Das
Distributed by Flying River Flims
Release date
 9 September 2017 (TIFF)
28th September 2018
Running time
 87 minutes
Country India
Language Assamese language (Kamrupi dialect)
Box office ₹80 lakh (US$110,000)

Village Rockstars is a 2017 Indian Assamese language based on Kamrupi dialect coming-of-age film written, edited, co-produced, and directed by Rima Das, who is a self-taught filmmaker.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The film premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). More significantly, the film grabbed the Best Feature Film ‘Swarna Kamal’ award at the 65th National Film Awards, which were declared at New Delhi on 13 April 2018. [9] Village Rockstars also won awards in three other categories: Best Child Artist, Best Location Sound Recordist and Best Editing.[10] The film is selected for India's official entry to 91st Academy Awards.[11]

Plot summary

Dhunu is the protagonist amidst a group of real Village Rock stars. Growing up in deprivation, she learns to manage her life within surroundings of hostile natural calamities and how to weave dreams of owning a guitar!

Ten-year-old Dhunu (Bhanita Das) lives in village near Chaygaon in Assam, India with her widowed mother (Basanti Das) and elder brother Manabendra (Manabendra Das). While helping her mother sell snacks at a local event, she becomes mesmerized by a band that’s performing there. The part that’s so delightfully hokey: the boys belt out their hits with musical instruments made of Styrofoam. She proceeds to copy them, carving a guitar Jimi Hendrix would be proud of.

Impressionable and tenacious at the same time, Dhunu reads a comic book and decides she wants to form a band playing real instruments. Rupee by rupee, she begins to save for the guitar. She reads an article in a scrap newspaper and decides that positive thinking can make the possession of the guitar materialize. But as floods destroy the family's crops, Dhunu must choose her priorities. The whole premise sounds endearingly naive, yet Dhunu’s brilliance in everything she does transforms the cheesy bromides into a rallying cry for hope and self-reliance. The language of the movie is Kamrupi, a distinct dialect of Assam.

Critical reception

Village Rockstars won the Film Critics Circle of India Award for the Best Indian Film of 2017[12]. Jury member Dalton L declared it "a milestone film of sorts", adding, "Village Rockstars epitomises the trials and tribulations, and heralds the coming of age, of a filmmaker, of her protagonist, and of the indie film movement in India". Jury member Priyanka Dasgupta said, "Rima Das’ film is a lyrical montage of life and times in contemporary rural India. It subtly draws attention to complex gender issues – sometimes even subverting the conventional gender norms – without ever getting preachy. Bhanita Das – the pint-sized fiery ball of lovable energy – is endearingly natural. But just when one fears that the film might become schmaltzy, the film-maker takes control. The lens speaks volumes, sometimes conveying more than the dialogues. Such a work by a first-time director holds a lot of promise for Indian cinema". Jury member Premchand called it "a women’s journey into the heart of the matter." Saibal Chatterjee, a founder member of the Society, gave the film a five-star rating, and says in his review, "A masterwork is usually the result of strict adherence to artistic and functional rules. Village Rockstars respects none: it dons a raw, innocent cloak and exudes a degree of purity that deliberate craft can never bestow on a film... The film stands for something that is always under threat: the courage to ignore the reality that life is exceedingly difficult for cinema that is made on the margins of a giant production machinery and recognize that there always are ways out for those who revel in battling the odds, no matter how daunting, and overcoming them." [13]

Maggie Lee says in her review for Variety, "By focusing on tween characters, the picture evokes that freewheeling stage when gender roles are still blurry in the friendships between boys and girls. Then as suddenly as a monsoon, Dhunu’s first period arrives. The rituals held to initiate her into womanhood — making her wear a sari, segregating her from the boys — are seen as attempts to enforce her otherness." [14] Deborah Young in the Hollywood Reporter says, "Village Rockstars’ storytelling is so offhand it borders on documentary. The action follows natural rhythms, the seasons, biology." [15]

Awards

At 65th National Film Awards

At Jio MAMI Film Festival 2017

  • Golden Gateway award for best film in India Gold category[16]
  • Oxfam Best Film for Gender Equality award[16]
  • Young Critics Choice award.[16]

At International Children's Film Festival India (ICFFI) 2017

  • Golden Elephant for Best Director (Feature Film) Competition Asian Panorama by Adult Jury : Rima Das[17]
  • Special Jury award for the Best Child Performer : Bhanita Das[17]

At Cork Film Festival

  • Gradam Spiorad Na Féile / Spirit of the Festival Award[18]

At Cairo International Film Festival

  • Best Artistic Contribution from the International Critic’s Week competition[19]

At Olympia International Film Festival for Children & Young people

  • Best Actress: Bhanita Das[20]
  • Best Director: Rima Das[20]
  • Special Jury prize[20]

At Smile International Film Festival for Children & Youth

  • Best Children's Film[21]
  • Best Actor (Bhanita Das)[21]

At Cine Junior Film Festival, France 2018

  • Grand Prix (Best Film)[22]

At Muestra de Cine Lanzarote 2017, Spain

At Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles

  • Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature[24]

At the Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente, Argentina 2018

At Prag Cine Awards 2018[26]

  • Best Film : Village Rockstars
  • Best Actor (Female) : Bhanita Das
  • Best Editing : Rima Das
  • Best Sound Designer: Amrit Pritam
  • Jury’s Special Mention: Basanti Das

At 27th Assam state Film Award abd Festival

  • Kamal Narayan Choudhry Award for Best Director : Rima Das
  • Best Sound Design : Amrit pritam
  • Best Debut Actress : Bhanita Das
  • Nalin Dowerah Award for Best Cinematography : Rima Das

At 3rd BRICS flim festival

  • Best Actress : Bhanita Das
  • Special Jury Award : Village Rockstar

Official selection at festivals

  • Toronto International Film Festival (Discovery Section) 2017[27]
  • San Sebastián International Film Festival (New Directors Competition) 2017[28]
  • Guwahati International Film Festival[29]
  • Dharamshala International Film Festival[30] (closing film)
  • Cannes Film Festival 2017 [31]
  • Kerala International Film Festival (International Competition) 2017 [32]
  • SIFFCY[33] 2017 (Opening film)
  • Tallinn Black Nights 2017[34]
  • HKIFF, Hong Kong International Film Festival 2018[35]
  • International Film Festival of India, Goa 2017[36]
  • Glasgow Film Festival, UK 2018 (UK premiere)[37]
  • Cairo International Film Festival 2017, Egypt[38]
  • MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2017, India[16]
  • Medellín International Film Festival 2017, Colombia
  • International Children's Film Festival India 2017, India (Competition Section)[39]
  • Leiden International Film Festival, Netherlands 2017[40]
  • Cork Film Festival 2017, Ireland[18]
  • Olympia International Film Festival 2017, Greece (Competition Section)[20]
  • Cine Junior Film Festival, France, 2018 (French premiere)[22]
  • Les Toiles Filantes, France, 2018
  • Cairo International Women's Film Festival, Egypt, 2018
  • Aga Khan Museum, Canada, 2018[41]
  • Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth, Canada, 2018[42]
  • Tromso International Film Festival, Norway, 2018 (Norwegian premiere)
  • Göteborg International Film Festival, Sweden, 2018 (Swedish Premiere)
  • MOOOV Film Festival, Belgium, 2018 (Belgium premiere)
  • Muestra de Cine de Lanzarote, Spain, 2017[23]
  • Jogjakarta Film Festival, Indonesia 2017 (South East Asian Premiere)
  • Bangalore Film Festival, India
  • Chennai International Film Festival, India[43]
  • Singapore South Asian International Film Festival 2018

See also

References

  1. ↑ "'Village Rockstars, Film On Guitar-Playing Girl, Is India's Oscar Entry'". Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  2. ↑ "'Village Rockstars': Film Review - Mumbai 2017". Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  3. ↑ Purkayastha, Debasree (25 September 2017). "Rockstar from the village". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  4. ↑ Lee, Maggie (14 September 2017). "Toronto Film Review: 'Village Rockstars'". Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  5. ↑ "Rima Das: Director of 'Village Rockstars'- A one crew army". themoviean.com. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  6. ↑ Bains, Pahull (9 October 2017). "Meet the one-woman army behind 'Village Rockstars'". Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Assamese Filmmaker's 'Village Rockstars' Steals the Show at MAMI 2017 » Northeast Today". 19 October 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  8. ↑ https://www.tiff.net/tiff/village-rockstars/
  9. ↑ "65th National Film Awards: Sridevi wins Best Actress award, Assamese film Village Rockstars is Best Film". The Indian Express. 2018-04-13. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  10. ↑ "Assamese film Village Rockstars wins Best Film at national film awards". The News Mill. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  11. ↑ "Assamese Movie 'Village Rockstars' Is India's Official Entry For The Oscars". Headlines Today. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  12. ↑ "3rd annual Film Critics Circle of India Award". filmcriticscircle.com. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  13. ↑ "When Great Cinema is Propelled by Passion, Not Money". NDTV.com. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  14. ↑ "Toronto Film Review: 'Village Rockstars'". variety.com. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  15. ↑ "'Village Rockstars': Film Review - Mumbai 2017". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Village Rockstar steals the show at MAMI 2017, bags 3 awards". India Today. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  17. 1 2 "Assamese filmmaker Rima Das' Village Rockstars wins big at ICFFI - Times of India". Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  18. 1 2 "Awards". corkfilmfest.org. Cork Film Festival. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  19. ↑ "Cairo International Film Festival". www.ciff.org.eg. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  20. 1 2 3 4 "Τα Βραβεία του 20ου Φεστιβάλ Ολυμπίας". Olympia Festival. 2017-12-10. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  21. 1 2 "Siffcy Winner". siffcy.org. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  22. 1 2 "Palmarès du Festival Ciné Junior 2018" (PDF).
  23. 1 2 ""Milla", de Valerie Massadian, se alza con el Premio a la Mejor película de la 7ª Muestra de cine de Lanzarote". Muestra de Cine de Lanzarote (in Spanish). 2017-12-04. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  24. ↑ desk, Northeast Live web (18 April 2018). "Village Rockstars awarded Grand Jury Best Feature Film at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles - North East Live". Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  25. ↑ http://www.signis.net/noticias/cultura/23-04-2018/pelculas-de-india-y-colombia-premiadas-por-signis-en-el-20-bafici
  26. ↑ "Govinda at Prag Cine Awards 2018 » Northeast Today". 29 May 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  27. ↑ "Village Rockstars". www.tiff.net. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  28. ↑ "San Sebastian Film Festival". sansebastianfestival. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  29. ↑ "'Village Rockstars' to be screened at Guwahati international film fest". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  30. ↑ "Rising Star: Village Rockstars director Rima Das". 15 October 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  31. ↑ "Rima Das's Village Rockstars to be showcased at Cannes film festival - The News Mill". 21 March 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  32. ↑ girish, girish. "Village Rockstars". 22nd International Film Festival of Kerala. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  33. ↑ "Siffcy". siffcy.org. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  34. ↑ Pandya, Sonal. "Ajji, Mukkabaaz, Village Rockstars among 5 Indian films chosen for Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia". Cinestaan. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  35. ↑ Frater, Patrick (2018-02-28). "Hong Kong Festival Sets Debut Features as Opening Film Pair". Variety. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  36. ↑ "Indian Panorama 2017". IFFI Goa. 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  37. ↑ "Scotland's original independent cinema is the". glasgowfilm.org. Glasgow Film Theatre. 2018-03-17. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  38. ↑ "'Village Rockstars' wins Cairo film festival award". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  39. ↑ "20th International Children's Film Festival India". cfsindia.org. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  40. ↑ "Village Rockstars". liff.nl. Leiden International Film Festival. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  41. ↑ "Aga Khan Museum". Aga Khan Museum. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  42. ↑ "Village Rockstars | R2R Festival". www.2018.r2rfestival.org. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  43. ↑ "Films". Chennai International Film Festival. 2016-11-28. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
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