Village Rockstars

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Village Rockstars
File:Poster of Village Rockstars.jpg
Official poster
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 Films
Release dates
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  • 9 September 2017 (2017-09-09) (TIFF)
  • 28 September 2018 (2018-09-28)
Running time
 87 minutes
Country India
Language Assamese

Village Rockstars is a 2017 Indian Assamese language coming-of-age drama film written, edited, co-produced and directed by Rima Das, who is a self-taught filmmaker.[1] The story follows a 10-year-old girl who befriends a group of boys and dreams of becoming a rock star.

The film premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). More significantly, it received the Best Feature Film ‘Swarna Kamal’ award at the 65th National Film Awards, which were declared in New Delhi on 13 April 2018.[2] Village Rockstars also won awards in three other categories: Best Child Artist, Best Location Sound Recordist and Best Editing.[3] It was selected as India's official entry to the 91st Academy Awards, but it was not nominated for top nine films from a total of 87.[4]

Plot summary

Dhunu is the protagonist amidst a group of real village rock stars. Growing up in hardship, she cherished aspiration of having her own rock band. Her life although engulfed by hostile natural calamities doesn't bar her from dreaming of owning a real guitar.

Ten-year-old Dhunu (Bhanita Das) lives in Kalardiya 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.

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.

Cast

  • Bhanita Das as Dhunu
  • Basanti Das as Dhunu's mother
  • Manabendra Das as Dhunu's elder brother
  • Boloram Das
  • Rinku Dast
  • Bishnu Kalita

Production

The film was entirely shot in Das's home village of Kalardiya in Lower Assam, where her family played much of the cast, including her cousin Bhanita Das as the lead role of Dhunu. The film took nearly four years to make. The initial idea for the film was inspired by an event during the post-production of Rima Das's first film, Antardrishti (Man with the Binoculars), when she came across a group of village children playing imaginary instruments to a song on the radio.[5] Rima Das served as the director, producer, writer, editor and cinematographer for Village Rockstars (with assistance from her cousin, Mallika Das), making the film using a Canon 5D camera and one lens. She bought this camera by selling gold jewelry and raising a loan.[6] Speaking on the no-budget nature of the production of the film, Rima Das said, "I shot this film without any crew and cast of the film wasn't trained in acting, so the process to make this film was hard and challenging, but I think it is possible if you have belief in yourself."[7]

Critical reception

File:The Director & Producer, Ms. Rima Das and the Cast & Crew of the film ‘Village Rockstars’ felicitated, during the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2017), in Panaji, Goa on November 21, 2017.jpg
Director Rima Das (third from right) with cast and crew of the film at 48th International Film Festival of India, in Panaji, Goa on 21 November 2017

Village Rockstars won the Film Critics Circle of India Award for the Best Indian Film of 2017.[8] 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."[9]

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."[10] 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."[11] Hannah Lynn of Pittsburgh City Paper compared the film to The Florida Project in that it is "aimless without being pointless"[12] while Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail called it "confident and sincere", giving it 3.5 out of 4 stars.[13] Radheyan Simonpillai of NOW gave the film 4 stars and lamented the fact that the film wasn't nominated at the academy awards, writing that he'd take the "stunning, poetic film [...] over Roma (or Cold War, or Capernaum or Never Look Away) any day."[14]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 7.97/10.[15]

Home Media

The film was also released to Netflix on 20 January 2020.[16]

Awards

Award Date of ceremony[lower-alpha 1] Category Recipients Result Ref.
Academy Award for Best International Feature Film February 24, 2019 Best Foreign Language Film India's official entry Not nominated [17][18]
National Film Awards April 13, 2018 Best Feature Film Rima Das Won [19]
Best Child Artist Bhanita Das Won
Best Location Sound Recordist Mallika Das Won
Best Editing Rima Das Won
Jio MAMI Film Festival 2017 October 18, 2018 Golden Gateway award for best film in India Gold category Village Rockstars Won [20]
Oxfam Best Film for Gender Equality award Village Rockstars Won
Young Critics Choice award Village Rockstars Won
Cork Film Festival November 11, 2017 Gradam Spiorad Na Féile / Spirit of the Festival Award Village Rockstars Won [21]
Cairo International Film Festival November 21, 2017 Best Artistic Contribution from the International Critic's Week competition Village Rockstars Won [22]
Olympia International Film Festival for Children & Young people 26 November 2017 Best Actress Bhanita Das Won [23]
Best Director Rima Das Won [23]
Special Jury prize Village Rockstars Won [23]
Smile International Film Festival for Children & Youth 17 December 2017 Best Children's Film Village Rockstars Won [24]
Best Actor Bhanita Das Won [24]
Cine Junior Film Festival, France 2018 1 January 2018 Grand Prix (Best Film) Village Rockstars Won [25]
Muestra de Cine Lanzarote 2017, Spain 18 May 2017 Best Young Film Village Rockstars Won [26]
Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles 15 April 2018 Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Village Rockstars Won [27]
Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente, Argentina 2018 22 April 2018 SIGNIS Prize Village Rockstars Won [28]
Prag Cine Awards 2018 27 May 2018 Best Film Village Rockstars Won [29]
Best Actor (Female) Bhanita Das Won
Best Editing Rima Das Won
Best Sound Designer Amrit Pritam Won
Jury's Special Mention Basanti Das Won
7th Assam state Film Award and Festival 29 July 2018 Kamal Narayan Choudhry Award for Best Director Rima Das Won
Best Sound Design Amrit Pritam Won
Best Debut Actress Bhanita Das Won
Nalin Dowerah Award for Best Cinematography Rima Das Won
3rd BRICS film festival 27 July 2018 Best Actress Bhanita Das Won
Special Jury Award Village Rockstars Won

Official selection at festivals

  • Toronto International Film Festival (Discovery Section) 2017[30]
  • San Sebastián International Film Festival (New Directors Competition) 2017[31]
  • Guwahati International Film Festival[32]
  • Dharamshala International Film Festival[33] (closing film)
  • Cannes Film Festival 2017[34]
  • Kerala International Film Festival (International Competition) 2017[35]
  • SIFFCY[36] 2017 (Opening film)
  • Tallinn Black Nights 2017[37]
  • HKIFF, Hong Kong International Film Festival 2018[38]
  • International Film Festival of India, Goa 2017[39]
  • Glasgow Film Festival, UK 2018 (UK premiere)[40]
  • Cairo International Film Festival 2017, Egypt[41]
  • MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2017, India[20]
  • Medellín International Film Festival 2017, Colombia
  • International Children's Film Festival India 2017, India (Competition Section)[42]
  • Leiden International Film Festival, Netherlands 2017[43]
  • Cork Film Festival 2017, Ireland[21]
  • Olympia International Film Festival 2017, Greece (Competition Section)[23]
  • Cine Junior Film Festival, France, 2018 (French premiere)[25]
  • Les Toiles Filantes, France, 2018
  • Cairo International Women's Film Festival, Egypt, 2018
  • Aga Khan Museum, Canada, 2018[44]
  • Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth, Canada, 2018[45]
  • 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[26]
  • Jogjakarta Film Festival, Indonesia 2017 (South East Asian Premiere)
  • Bangalore Film Festival, India
  • Chennai International Film Festival, India[46]
  • Singapore South Asian International Film Festival 2018

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Each date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

  1. ↑
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External links

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