Hope National Awards will help Garo language get recognition: Dominic Sangma
Known for weaving culture, history, & folklore into his work, Dominic often explores themes of identity, spirituality, & the human condition through the lens of the Garo community.
Guwahati, Aug 10: For Dominic Sangma, one of the most compelling voices in independent cinema from Northeast India, filmmaking is more than art — it’s a mission to preserve and promote his Garo heritage.
The Meghalaya filmmaker’s latest work, ‘Rimgodittanga’ (Rapture), has won the Best Garo Language Film at the 71st National Film Awards. This is his second National Award; his debut feature ‘Ma.Ama’, also in Garo, won in 2019.
So why does he continue to make films in Garo?
“Even my diploma film was about the Garo language,” Dominic told The Assam Tribune after the award announcement. “It was about a poet who was pained that Garos don’t have their own script, and expressing the language using the English alphabet was unbearable for him.”
He hopes these achievements will add weight to the Meghalaya government’s demand to include Garo in the Constitution’s Eighth Schedule. “I had to submit proof that the Garo language exists because it’s not in the Eighth Schedule,” said the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute alumnus. “The Garo language is alive, thriving, and beautiful. I hope it will be added soon so our writers get the recognition they deserve.”
Known for weaving culture, history, and folklore into his work, Dominic often explores themes of identity, spirituality, and the human condition through the lens of the Garo community. But making films in Northeast Indian languages, he said, comes with its own challenges.
“Even if our films get distributed abroad — Rapture was released in more than 150 screens in France — it’s still hard to find distribution in India. OTT platforms think nobody will watch them,” he said.
‘Rapture’, the second part of a trilogy inspired by Sangma’s childhood memories, is set in a Garo Hills village. It follows a 10-year-old boy with night blindness, whose fear of darkness grows amid village rumours of kidnappings and organ trafficking. The story mirrors the community’s anxieties while celebrating their resilience.
On his latest National Award, Dominic said: “This award is dedicated to the people of Meghalaya, especially the Garo Hills. I hope it inspires young filmmakers from the region to tell our stories with courage and sincerity. I’m forever indebted to my amazing cast and crew for making this film possible.”
The film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in 2023 and has since travelled to festivals in Sydney, Mumbai, Melbourne, Malaysia, Hainan, and Poland. It has collected honours including the NETPAC Award at MAMI, Best Director (Critics’ Choice) at IFFM, Best Cinematography (Tojo Xavier) at the Malaysia International Film Festival, and the Cultural Diversity Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.