Tata Steel Foundation is organising ‘Samuday Ke Saath', a national short film festival bringing together 51 indigenous filmmakers and discuss the narrative of ‘adivasiyat’ from August 7-9.
The venue would be Tribal Culture Centre at Sonari, Jamshedpur where the films would be screened. There would be discussion on 16 films on indigenous issues and perspectives. The objective is that while cinema is a core means of transmission of traditional knowledge, the indigenous perspective is often masked under many layers of inaccessibility and under-confidence when represented in cinema. This will be the core point of dialogue through narratives of indigenous culture and life and simulating ‘Adivasiyat’.
During these three days, visitors, invitees and stakeholders can also experience Tribal Cuisine at the same venue. Being anchored under ‘Aatithya, this will be brought by 21 home cooks from August 7-9 in a fine-dining experience for the people of Jamshedpur. Food orders for home delivery shall also be entertained on these two days.
Another important engagement would be Khoj Yatra, a journey of discovery for 24 indigenous writers and filmmakers meeting communities, staying in villages and immersing themselves in traditional stories and perspectives which will then find expression in the works of these creative set of people. This is an attempt to link mainstream capacities with traditional wisdom systems. The last such yatra was organised in 2019, before the pandemic, where 2 filmmakers got an idea leading to Serengsia 1837, a national award winning film in 2022.
There will also be a Dialogue on Women Leadership at TCC on August 9. This programme will bring together 80 indigenous women who have been exemplars of transformative leadership on social issues and traditional wisdom.
The foundation’s engagement with the indigenous communities is decades old and has organically evolved over the years. Samvaad is an ecosystem that has been curated for tribal identity, while it celebrates the spirit of tribalism and also enables the key elements of tribal identity to feed into a constructive dialogue. Through the Samvaad ecosystem, we endeavour “to bring collective wisdom under one roof so as to stimulate a valuable exchange and cross-pollination of ideas.”
“ At Tata Steel Foundation, we believe that traditional knowledge is at the core of indigenous identity, culture, languages, heritage and livelihoods, and its transmission from one generation to the next must be protected, preserved and encouraged; the thirteen elements of Samvaad ecosystem facilitate in the preservation and transmission of this body of knowledge. Traditional knowledge is transmitted between generations through stories, songs, dances, carvings, paintings and performances. Cinema is a powerful medium to bring to life the stories that have mainly existed in oral tradition or in paintings,” said Sourav Roy, CEO, TSF.