Tuesday, March 15, 2016

All is not forgotten with Khurpui, the Kom animation film project.

Following on from the successful Experimental Animation Workshop at the National Institute of Design in January, I later went back to Manipur to reconnect with the few Kom people that I know.  It was a very short visit, and I had other work to do there too, as there was the Meitei "Tapta"  film that was a priority - the errant film needed to rejoin the rest of the "Tales of the Tribes" collection...

Anyway, while I was there, I was able to meet our young Kom cultural advisor, Augustine, who came to the Manipur State Film Development Society (formally the Manipur Film Development Corporation) in Imphal.  I was able to introduce him to Dr. R.K. Joykumar, who had been our main collaborator and director of the "Tapta" film, and we all watched the "Khurpui" documentary made by the students at the National Institute of Design.  I have also submitted a proposal to the Department of Art and Culture in Manipur for support for  a workshop to take place during the summer, to bring some young animators to Manipur to help our young Kom friends from Koirentak to finish the film, using the medium of sand.

Lets hope that this will be the first animated folktale from the Kom tribe in Manipur, and that it can inspire and enthuse the local young people to do more about translating their oral narratives for new media.