Gorai Phakhri or Wild Swan, a Bodo language film directed by Rajni Basumatary,
produced by Jani Viswanath, and co-produced by Rajni Basumatary under the banner of Manna Films has been selected to be premiered at the 42nd edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), as per sources.

This 95-min long film reportedly is the only Indian feature film at VIFF and features Helina Daimary, Sangeena Brahma, Mithinga Narzary and Anjali Daimari among others in the key roles with Avinash Baghel’s Music, Chida Bora’s cinematography and Tinni Mitra’s editing.

Talking about the theme ‘Patriarchy’ of the movie, Rajni said, “Patriarchy is so deeply rooted in the culture that women themselves toe the line. This film is my humble effort to take forward the dialogue on the subject. ”

“I couldn’t have had a better festival than this to have our world premiere. VIFF is showcasing exceptional cinema in one of the world’s most beautiful cities. I feel excited and honoured just to have ‘Wild Swans’ (Gorai Phakhri) lined up alongside films by some great directors whose films I have personally admired, including Oscar-winning Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car fame), veteran filmmaker Marco Bellocchio, Deepa Mehta and Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters fame),” Rajni further added.

Talking about the Wild Swans’ plot revolving around interwoven stories about village women standing up against patriarchy in the armed conflict milieu of India’s Northeast region she added, “I belong to this region and like many other societies, we too are still struggling to come out of life living in patriarchal conditions. Our region has seen a great deal of conflicts between the state and separatist groups even between different communities for the last few decades. Women suffer the most in conflict zones. This truth was reminded to us by what we saw happening with the women in Manipur recently. Women’s bodies are often used as pawns and battlefields”.

She also mentioned renowned sound designer Amrit Pritam and senior DI/colourist Sujit Borah, Hemanti Sarkar, Hemant Gaba and distinguished anthropologist Dolly Kikon helping her with her script.

She further conveyed her thanks to Anjali Daimari and Shirish Jain for their enormous support.