New Delhi October 21 (MIC): Documentary filmmaker Haobam Paban Kumar with the Manipuri documentary film – Phum Shang (Floating House) was chosen for the first Bala Kailasam Memorial Award for the year 2015. Cinema Rendezvous, a non-profit trust based in Chennai instituted the award to encourage `Innovative use of Media for Social Causes`™. The award constitutes a cash price of Rs. 50,000/- and a citation. The award ceremony will take place on October 26 at Savera Hotel , RK Salai, Chennai with the presence of Suhasini Maniratnam as special invitee.
Cinema Rendezvous on Tuesday expressed its proudness to announce that the recipient of First Bala Kailasam Memorial Award 2015 was Haobam Paban Kumar for his documentary filmPhum-Shang (Floating Life).
In the Facebook, Cinema Rendezvous says, `Floating life, a 52 minutes film produced by Film Division is a quiet and fair-hearted investigation of the fishermen communities and their floating dwellings in Loktak Lake, North East India. In 2011, Manipur government burnt down hundreds of huts in the pretext of cleaning the lake and blaming the locals for the pollution of the lake. Thousands of fishermen were displaced, became homeless and their livelihood snatched. With nowhere to go the fisherman still continue to fight the authorities. They continue to fight a losing battle where the authorities are even questioning their being a native of the lake since they live on floating huts built on floating biomass. In its treatment, the film has reached an epic quality and stands as a metaphor in portraying the vulnerabilities, struggles and strength of our lives. The film moves and impacts the viewer at different levels and opens up whole new vistas for thought`.
Scriptwriter, Director and Producer Haobam Paban Kumar was born in July 10, 1976. In Imphal. He obtained P. G. Diploma in Direction & Screenplay Writing from Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute of India. His non-feature film-AFSPA1958 made him the first Manipuri film maker who received Swarna Kamal Award of National Film Awards.
Bala Kailasam Memorial Award, an award for Innovative use of Media for Social Causes is selected from the nominations submitted by individuals or organisations working in any of the platforms viz, Print Media, Social Media, Documentary, Television and Radio.
The work done by the nominee should have impacted India in a tangible manner and brought about betterment in a society or a state or the country.
Cinema Rendezvous is a registered Non Profit Trust, working on Art & Culture related platforms promoting social dialogues between Artists. The Trust has been working with urban and rural populace in promoting and understanding of the mediums of Arts & Cinema. It celebrates the arts and addresses the challenges faced by Artists.
Bala Kailasam, fondly known as BK was a highly respected television professional and an activist documentary filmmaker. He was a man of vision who could foresee the impacts of mass media well ahead of the times. His visions of using media for social wellbeing, environmental upkeep & improvement of human conditions remain unfulfilled by his untimely demise in 2014.
