‘Bloody Phanek’ to be premiered at 9th DMZ int’l docu film fest

Our Bureau

IMPHAL | Sept 19

State woman filmmaker, Sonia Nepram’s non-fiction film ‘Bloody Phanek’, is all set for world premiere.

The film will hit the big screen this month during the 9th DMZ international documentary film festival 2017, which will be held at Gyeonggi-do in South Korea from September 20 – 28.

Speaking to the Imphal Free Press over the phone, Sonia expressed her excitement on getting the news of her film being selected for the prestigious international festival. “It has been an arduous journey with full of trials and tribulations.

 Besides the excitement of the festival, I feel so happy to complete the film”, she said, adding it took her three years to complete it.

Sonia continued, “The subject of the film is very close to me being a woman. Also I have to mention that it is a collective story telling of a team, and I wish the film is screen in more and more places.”

On being asked about the funding of the film, Sonia said Docedge Kolkata has been very helpful for building the much needed network through the pitching session in Imphal. “It is a very good opportunity for documentary filmmakers who are resource starved”, she added.  

Organised under the theme of ‘Peace, Life, Communication’, the festival features 114 films from 42 countries. The 52-minute ‘Bloody Phanek’ has been selected in the Global Vision Section (World Premiere category) of the festival.

Sonia will also be attending the premieres at Gyeonggi-do. It will be screened on September 26 and 28 at the festival.

Produced and directed by Sonia under the banner of Yelhoumee Pictures, ‘Bloody Phanek’ started with a pitching programme in 2014 at the Manipur State Film Development Society held under the aegis of the Docedge Kolkata and the Television and Cine Foundation, Manipur.

It was further pitched at the Docedge Kolkata, Asian Forum for Documentary, where the Mumbai-based Filament Pictures offered the Chandy Mathew Grant for outreach support for the film.  Then, in 2015, it was invited to pitch at the DMZ Docs Fund South Korea where ‘Bloody Phanek’ received the support grants.

The film explores the inherent concept of impurity in a phanek while examining how it is used as a medium of protest and challenges masculinity. It is Sonia second film.

Her debut film ‘Gun and a God’ that was released online in 2013 had won the Jury’s Choice Award at the Mumbai Women’s International Film Festival (MWIFF).