Ranchi
The inaugural three-day Dharti Aaba Tribal Film Festival (DAFF 2025), which was held here from October 14-16 at the Dr. Ram Dayal Munda Tribal Welfare Research Institute, witnessed a vibrant confluence of culture, art, and critical discussion, as an impressive 52 films from across the country focusing on tribal life, identity, and social change were screened.
Formally inaugurated by Welfare Minister Chamra Linda, the energy peaked on Day 2 (October 15th), which featured a packed auditorium for the screening of the Nagpuri feature, Celestina & Lawrence. The enthusiastic interactive session with Director Vikram Kumar highlighted the audience’s deep connection to regional narratives.
This was followed by a crucial panel discussion on “Adivasi Cinema in Focus: The Art of Structural Learning and Unlearning,” moderated by Sneha Mundari and featuring filmmakers Shyama Karmakar and Krishna Soren. While Soren stressed that technical expertise is vital, Karmakar cautioned on script flexibility. They both agreed that AI is only a tool that cannot replace human creativity. The panel also cited three main obstacles to cinema growth in Jharkhand: Language barrier, historical underrepresentation of Adivasi people in main roles, and difficulties in effective audience outreach.
The final day reinforced the cultural mandate, with Director Umul Juno Soren discussing his film Sakam Orec (Divorce), joined by actor and jury member Mahadeo Toppo, who featured in the screened film Jadugoda. Seminars focused on the role of Adivasi cinema as a vessel for cultural archives, preserving traditional languages, folklore, and ways of life while countering misrepresentation.
The closing ceremony saw Welfare Minister Chamra Linda passionately capturing the festival’s essence, as he asserted that the event was “an inspiration from filmmakers to learn how creative they are, and also that cinema is the only way to know about the tribal culture to the world.”
The inaugural edition concluded by honouring exceptional contributions. Winners were awarded in the categories of Feature Films, Short Films, Long Documentary, and Short Documentary.
