Hi, all. I am, Haobam Paban Kumar from Manipur ? the
eastern most state of India bordering Myanmar. My documentary film A Cry in the Dark (left) is going to have its
world premiere at TIFF.
When Manipur became a part of India in 1949,
a large portion of the Manipuri population was resistant, believing the merger
to be an illegal and illegitimate annexation. To curb these "separatists,"
the government adopted the Armed Forces Special Power Act, 1958, allowing
officers to not only conduct searches and arrests based on mere suspicion, but
to shoot and kill at will. A Cry in the Dark traces the heightening unrest of
the Manipuri people after a 32-year-old woman, taken from her home in 2004 by
soldiers of the 17th Assam Rifles regiment, was found dead under suspicious
circumstances.
A Cry in the Dark will be presented in the Real to
Reel programme. I never heard about TIFF before. In fact, TIFF is my first
experience of a film festival outside India. Gradually I came to know the
importance of TIFF. Since my film got selected for TIFF, a lot of people have been
approaching me enquiring about my film. I am very excited about my screening
and visit to Toronto.
I always wanted to tell stories about my people and I am really proud that TIFF
is providing a platform to a beginner like me.
Right now I am very busy preparing for my trip to Toronto. It?s not easy
for someone like me coming from this remote part of the world to prepare for
this big event. But all the friends at TIFF make it so simple. I thank them for
answering the stupidest of questions from me and for their patience. In between
I got to know about this blog from Thom Powers. So I just sat and wrote down
these few lines.
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