THE BLOOD AND THE BORDER
Rituals of the Khyrim People
My latest film, "The Blood and the Border- Rituals of the Khyrim People”, is screening at the 'Migrant Voices in European Cinema' conference at the University of Kent in April 2024.
Like human emotions, films have always transcended geographic boundaries and borders, making it particularly poignant that this is the venue for the screening.
I will also be sharing insights into my filmmaking journey and practice. The event is organized by the University of Kent and supported by the Institute of Languages, Culture, and Societies (ILCS) London, the Modern Humanities Research Association (UK), the Austrian Cultural Forum, and the Eastern Arc: Academic Research Consortium, which promotes social awareness, radical and disruptive research, and education, forged in communities built on equality, respect, and intellectual freedom.
Kyrwoh: I first started the project in the midst of the pandemic's onset driven by a quest for answers to seemingly unanswerable questions. I am deeply grateful to Mei Syiem Sad who embraced me with open arms, sharing her profound knowledge and insights, allowing me to see the Lehniam Hima Khyrim as an inherently political phenomenon. Thank you to everyone at the Iing Sad, ki Duhalia bad ki Lyngdoh. Haba S. S. Khyrim
This film wouldn't have been possible without the unwavering support of my family in Shillong, Embor Sayo and his team for ensuring the delivery of crucial footage when travel was restricted, Gordon for capturing the phenomenal aerial footage, Duncan H Kharmalki for his assistance with location sound amidst the laughter and camaraderie during those freezing nights while we were filming, with nothing but a kettle to defrost our windshield, Devanshi Desai and Subir Kumar Das who took up the colouring and audio master of the film without hesitation (both responsible for their visual and sonic brilliance in my last fiction film, Lorni- the Flaneur).
"The Blood and the Border- Rituals of the Khyrim people" represents the culmination of my trilogy of non-fiction feature length films that I first began in 2015. It undertakes a comprehensive re-examination of Khasi society in North East India, my place of origin. Preceding "The Blood and the Border," the trilogy includes "Because We Did Not Choose" (2017), which delves into the experience of indigenous labour during World War I and their encounters with modernity, and "Where the Clouds End" (2015), an exploration of themes such as race, purity, insider-outsider politics, belonging, and the international border.
Wanphrang K Diengdoh