'Unseen Meghalaya' Bags Best Short Documentary Award

Shillong: Unseen Meghalaya — Journey into the Unexplored Living Root Bridges earned the award for best short documentary film at the 14th Jaipur International Film Festival, highlighting the beauty of Meghalaya's living root bridges (JIFF).

The short film, created by famous filmmaker Sapan Narula and produced by Canon India, highlights the world's only live root bridges, an ancient natural legacy unique to North East India's Khasi woods.

"We are happy to have won this prize for the best short documentary film at the prestigious 14th Jaipur International Film Festival, 2021," the team of Unseen Meghalaya remarked in response to their achievement at JIFF. The entire team would like to express their gratitude to the jury for choosing our film, which presents a lovely story about a strong link between nature and a 24-year-old Khasi kid named Morningstar Khongthaw who is working to conserve and preserve his natural heritage."

As noted, the film takes the audience on a journey with Morningstar and his young apprentice across the world's only triple Decker living root bridge and the world's longest-living root bridge. These bridges, which were once the lifeblood of tribal societies, are now threatened by modernization, climate change. A living root bridge is made by guiding the pliable roots of the Ficus elastica tree across a stream or river, then allowing the roots to grow and strengthen over time until they can support the weight of a person. Young roots are frequently tied or twisted together, and inosculation is used to stimulate them to connect with one another.

The Ficus elastica tree's roots are well suited to anchoring themselves to steep slopes and rocky surfaces, therefore encouraging them to take hold on the opposite sides of river banks is not difficult.

The film has been shot at the rare locations of Khasi Hills in Meghalaya, India.

Morningstar Khongthaw, a 24-year-old Khasi native, has taken it upon himself to conserve and maintain the root bridges, which his tribe believes are their ancestors' spiritual heritage, erected with ancient ways passed down through centuries in this secluded jungle wonderland. Simran Gill, the creator of Film Trotters Media, is the film's creative producer and scriptwriter. Living root bridges are also recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.

The film has also been selected for screening at a number of prestigious film festivals around the world, including Cannes International Independent Film Festival (CIIFF) 2021 (nominee); Venice Shorts 2021 (Finalist); Switzerland International Film Festival (SIFF) 2021; and Goa Short Film Festival 2021.

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