GUWAHATI, July 30 - A three-day documentary film festival was held at the North Eastern Police Academy (NEPA) at Umiam near Shillong recently, a press release received here stated. Meghalaya Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh addressed the valedictory programme of the festival organised by the Guwahati-based NGO, Film & Cultural Society of North East.
Eleven award-winning films from various countries of the world were screened for the benefit of the NEPA police trainees in order to sensitise them on multiple issues of importance including sports, art, society, environment, agriculture, child trafficking and genome.
Each of the screenings was followed by an interaction with invited resource persons on Skype and in person. The festival was inaugurated by Padma Bhusan awardee Jahnu Barua.
Among those who interacted with the young policemen on Skype were Academy award nominee Robert Bilheimer whose film, Not My Life, on child slavery and human trafficking was the attraction of the programme.
Faiza Ahmed Khan�s multiple award-winning documentary, Supermen of Malegaon, was screened on the first day. The trainees also interacted with Stephan Hilpert whose documentary, The Chess Players, was screened on the third day. Soumitra Ranade, the maker of Khoob Asti Afghanistan, joined on Skype to talk about his experience of making the film and his life in Afghanistan. Kishore Tiwari, the general secretary of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, answered to the queries of the policemen over phone after the screening of the award-winning documentary, Nero�s Guest, on farmers� suicide in India.
Manipuri filmmaker Borun Thokchom whose documentary, The Silent Poet, highlighted the poetic side of activist Irom Sharmila, was present on the second day of the programme to interact with the viewers. Painter Raphael Warjri spoke on art and addressed issues raised by the police trainees.
Rahul Jain, the secretary of the NGO, spoke on the importance of the documentary as an educational and character-building tool and its role in generating awareness on critical issues that bind humanity together.
Among those present on the occasion were NEPA Director Deuti Doley Barman and Joint Director Anil Kumar, the press release added.
