Indian filmmaker Dominic Sangma’s latest film, “Rapture” (“Rimdogittanga”), is the second installment in a trilogy of films based on his memories of village life. The Garo-language film tells the story of a 10-year-old boy suffering from night blindness, whose village is plagued by the fear of child kidnappers. Sangma drew inspiration from his own childhood fears and the common occurrence of strangers lurking at night in northeastern India.
In an interview with Variety, Sangma explained that he aimed to raise important questions through his film, challenging the audience’s belief systems and highlighting the divisive nature of our society. He wanted to explore the source of fear and the role it plays in religion, politics, and our interactions with others. The fear experienced by the villagers in the film is further fueled by a church prophecy of an impending darkness lasting 80 days, reflecting the influence of ancient beliefs on the predominantly Christian population of Meghalaya.
“Rapture” stands out as a rare India-China co-production, with one of the lead producers being China’s Xu Jianshang. Xu had previously produced Sangma’s debut feature “Ma’ama,” which won an award at the Shanghai Film Festival. The collaboration between India and China allowed Sangma to explore his artistic vision and receive support from different sources. Xu, who gained knowledge about independent filmmaking through her attendance at the Busan Asian Film School, introduced the project to Sun Li of China’s Joicy Studio. The film also had several other producers, including Anu Rangachar, Harsh Agarwal, Aditya Grover, Stephen Zacharias, and Eva Gunme R. Marak.
“Rapture” has already received recognition and support in various film events and initiatives. It was invited to India’s Film Bazaar, received a grant for script development from the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund, participated in Boost NL, and was selected for La Fabrique Cinema at Cannes. Funding for the film came from organizations such as Vision Sud Est in Switzerland and the Doha Film Institute.
Despite the political tensions between India and China, the project managed to avoid being influenced by them since it was not made under the India-China co-production agreement. Xu is now in talks for Chinese theatrical distribution and is also working on another suspense arthouse Chinese feature under her production house, CaoMu.
Looking ahead, Sangma plans to complete the third part of his trilogy, again produced by Xu. As a producer, he is also involved in the post-production of the short film “Lisum,” directed by Karry Padu. Sangma’s production company, Anna Films, is dedicated to producing auteur-driven films from northeastern India.
Sangma’s film “Rapture” highlights the troubling events that can occur in real life, drawing parallels to the situation in Manipur, a northeastern state in India. He hopes that through art, people can blur or erase the lines that separate different communities and prevent tragedies like those happening in Manipur. “Rapture” will have its world premiere at Locarno’s Cineasti del presente strand on August 10th.
Original Story at variety.com – 2023-08-08 06:14:00
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