Two Salesian priests made history when they received national film awards from Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil becoming the first Catholic priests to do so in the 56 years of the award’s existence.

Fathers Joseph Kizhakechennadu (producer) and Joseph Pulinthanath (director) of Tripura received the awards at the 56th National Film Awards in New Delhi March 19.

The award was for Yarwng (Roots), their second feature film in Tripura’s Kokborok language. It was also Tripura’s first ever national film award.

Pulinthanath dressed in white cassock and Kizhakechennadu in his preferred saffron lungi and half-sleeved white kurta were among 52 film award winners of 2008, including high-profile Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra and the doyen of Indian Cinematography V.K. Murthy who was awarded country’s highest honor in cinema – the Dada Saheb Phalke Award.

Award Winning Film

The award winning 95 minute film Yarwng (Roots) tells the story of large-scale displacement of tribal people that took place in the tiny Northeastern state when a hydel project was set up there in the late 1970s.

Yarwng was the opening film at the prestigious Indian Panorama section of the 39th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji, Goa, November 2008.

Pulinthanath’s earlier award winning film Mathia (Bangle) highlighted the plight of women labeled as witches.

According to the filmmakers, the script of Yarwng emerged from the numerous encounters they held with displaced people in the sanctity of their ramshackle homes.

“All the incidents and emotional turmoil we see in the film were etched in the subconscious psyche of the people. All we did was to get close to them and feel their stories as they recalled them with looks, sighs, tears and also words,” recalled the priest director and winner of national and international awards.

“Although the technical team came from Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) and the support team from Guwahati (Assam), the best part of the production was the involvement of the local people,” says producer Kizhakechennadu who claims cinematic traditions from his legendary relative John Abraham, a genius in Malayalam cinema and founder of a people’s cinema movement called Odessa.

Yarwng has traveled throughout India and has been screened in major cities around the world including New York, Brisbane, Moscow, Taipei, Stuttgart and Dhaka.The film, part-financed by Church organizations – Missio Germany, Signis and the Salesian Congregation is also a compelling testament to the commitment of the Church and the Don Bosco Society to preservation of local, indigenous cultures and people.

Source:  Salesians Honoured At 56th National Film Awards (Sar News)

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