Yelhoumee Pictures presents With the support of DMZ Docs Fund Outreach Support by Docedge Chandy Mathew Grant
A film by Sonia Nepram
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Contents Logline A Brief Introduction Director’s Statement Director’s Brief Bio Credits
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Language Manipuri Subtitle English First Public Screening 9th International DMZ Film Festival 21–28 Sep 2017 Goyang/Paju City South Korea For Press Inquires, Please Contract Sonia Nepram Email: sonia@yelhoumee.org Mobile: +91 89744-73306
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Logline A documentary film about Manipuri* phanek, which is similar to a sarong, to explore how this attire is used as a medium of protest, how it challenges masculinity and its inherent concept of impurity
* Manipur is a province located in Northeast India bordering Burma.
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A Brief Introduction
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hanek is the exclusive wear as well as a mark of identity for Manipuri women. More than serving the purpose of simple clothing for a woman, a phanek carries infinite symbolism revolving around women. Customarily, men are forbidden to touch a phanek, especially the used pieces. The discrimination towards phanek becomes more conspicuous as women avoid their sons, brothers and partners to touch it and maintain a distance from the phanek. On the other hand, it is believed that phanek challenges manhood. However, this has given birth to a language mainly expressed by women in a conflict situation, where they use phanek as a weapon of protest against state terrorism and injustice in the Manipuri society. ‘Bloody Phanek’ is a documentary film that will explore the multidimensional facets of this cloth. It tells the dynamics of phanek starting from all the rituals that surround a Manipuri life from birth to death, while it digs deeper into diverse implications ranging from the concept of impurity to the significance of the motifs in its design.
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Director’s Statement
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loody Phanek’ deals extensively with cultural studies and gender politics. I have planned this film with a global audience in my mind to engage with women’s issues like ‘untouchability’ and discrimination. On retrospection, I grew up in Manipur while conscious of the fact that phanek is our exclusive wear, which we ceremonially wore it—but unaware about the nuances that are associated with this attire. What’s more, it was not even clear what kinds of phanek are available for different occasions while aware of the various available design and types. Then, once a question rose within me when my mother did not allow me to wash my phanek along with my brothers’ clothes when I was a little girl. I was also forbidden to hang a phanek in the courtyard when my father was leaving for his office. It is considered inauspicious or equated to an evil spell that brings bad luck to a man. Besides, a phanek has layers of expressions, other than how it is perceived so cruelly in a patriarchal society.
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Our grandmothers used to tell us that thrashing a man with a phanek was no different from challenging his masculinity. And it’s worth questioning as to how a phanek can be so powerful despite it is considered ominous at times. These memories could never fade — in deed, the thoughts are embedded in the subconscious of the masses, as evident from how phanek is used ubiquitously during socio-political crises that we are so familiar with in this part of the world. I also realised it lies dormant in the mind of the people when I saw women started using phanek as an ultimate weapon on one hand. On the other, just by hanging it on the roads during general strikes and blockades, to protest against socioeconomical and political injustice, it speaks volume about the seriousness of this seemingly simple piece of cloth. In ‘Bloody Phanek’, I started the journey by rationally analysing the dynamics of phanek starting from all the rituals to the patterns and motifs that are generally found in a phanek. Myths coexist with popular beliefs as I delve deeper and ‘Bloody Phanek’ aims to lay bare these underlying beliefs, reasons and everything that is related to the universe of a phanek.
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For instance, phanek has the power to save a life of a man, who has been sentenced to death by the king. The film also explores amongst others, how it is an all-woman affair to make a phanek, how this cloth is closely related with mysticism, how women preserve the culture in a land where identity politics is rife, how the imposition of phanek as a school and college uniform affect the lifestyle and so on. Finally, is there any proof that a phanek is impure? Why is it made so mysterious? Does this attire mark a woman’s space? How is such a weapon defiled and is it not worthy to be washed along with men’s clothes? How can such an identitydefining cloth be considered polluted? And how does phanek affect the personal and the political? These are some of the questions behind the making of ‘Bloody Phanek’.
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Director’s Brief Bio
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post-graduate in mass communication from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi (India), Sonia Nepram has been working on various media and audio-visual projects. She has also set up her own production house Yelhoumee Pictures to scale newer heights in the world of cinema. Sonia aims to make responsible films that are of sociopolitical relevance. She believes in building a network of filmmakers and artists for exchanging ideas and collaboration. Bloody Phanek is Sonia Nepram’s second film. Her first film, Gun and a God, was released in 2013. It tells the story of a former female insurgwnt, who found her voice in a gun and justice in a God. Gun and a God won the Jury Choice Award at the Mumbai Women’s International Film Festival in the same year. Sonia had also made a student film, Limited Edition, which bagged several awards in university film festivals. She is supported by the DMZ Docs Fund and has outreach support by Docedge Chandy Mathew Grant.
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Credits Directed and Produced by Sonia Nepram Editing and Camera Sandeep Soubam First Camera Unit Pravin Khangembam, Shonshok Keishing, Ashish Hamom Sound Recordist Pravin Khangembam Audio Post Production Sunil Loitongbam Equipment Yelhoumee Pictures, Airameen Media, Our Village, H Digital Sagolband, Haobam Paban Kumar Researcher Paonam Thoibi, Sonia Nepram Creative Art Design Kapil Arambam Colour Correction Yoimayai Mongshaba Subtitle Kapil Arambam, Sonia Nepram Script Development Paonam Thoibi, Sonia Nepram Archival Footage Thingnam Sanjeev, Borun Thokchom, Deepak Shijagurumayum, Sunzu Bachaspatimayum, Special Thanks Arambam (O)Memchoubi, (Late) Heisnam Kanhailal, Heisnam Sabitri, Dr Laifungbam Debabrata Roy, Mutuwa Bahadur, Dr Sagolsem Lanchenba Meitei, K Sobita, Makhonmani Mongshaba, Bobo Khuraijam, Nameirakpamcha Inaomacha Meetei, Chaoba Thiyam With Sincere Thanks to DocEdge Kolkata, Television Cine (TC) Foundation Manipur, Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS ), RKCS Art Gallery, Kalakshetra Manipur, Laihui Ensemble, Hueiyen Lallong Thang-Ta Cultural Association, SWFC, Thongju Part-2 Pheijaleitong, Brahmapur Social Club - Brahmapur Laljilakpa Leikai, Lainingthou Naothingkhong Pakhangba - Patsoi, Moirang Thangjing Yageirel Marup, Sanamahi Temple Board, Kangla, Khwairamband Ima Keithel,
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Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) Mentors Nilotpal Mazumdar, Supriyo Sen, Bishnu Dev Halder, Sourav Sarangi, Haobam Paban Kumar, Iikka Vehkalahti, Anne Aghion, Kim Dong Won Acknowledgement Sorojini Konjengbam, Karnajit Nepram, Sanayanba Nepram, Paonam Rajen, Olivia Lourembam, Alina Rajkumari, Roshni Kharibam, Shinata Irom, Banita Irom, Jayanti Thokchom, Meena Longjam, Amar Maibam, Doren Oinam, Mohd Irfan Dhar, Sushmit Ghosh, Rintu Thomas, Shreema Ningombam, Shirley Khoirom, Ram Wangkheirakpam, Nandini Thockchom, Devkishor Soraisham, Busho Rajkumar, Rajkumari Supriya, Ibom Oinam, Mandakini Soubam, Bisheshor Gurumayum, Ibemcha, Indu Ningthoujam, Surjit Nongmeikapam, Aribam Johnson, Aribam Robinchandra, Irungbam Thoungamba, Rajkumar Keshaba, Laikhuram Johnson, Yumnam Manaoba, Loukrakpam Ibemcha, Surekha Longjam Supported by Outreach Support by
DMZ Doc, Docedge Kolkata Docedge Chandy Mathew Grants
2017 Š Yelhoumee Pictures Production
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Bloody Phanek is set in Manipur in northeast India, bordering Myanmar.
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