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Daughters of the Polo God

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This article is about a documentary film. For the God of polo, see Marjing.
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Daughters of the Polo God
A poster of the "Daughters of the Polo God"
Directed byRoopa Barua
Based onWomen's empowerment and Saving endangered Meitei horse (Manipuri pony), together for the development of Polo (Meitei: Sagol Kangjei)
Produced byRoopa Barua
Edited byHemanti Sarkar
Music bySunayana Sarkar
Release date
  • 2018 (2018)
Running time
33 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguagesMeitei (Manipuri) and English

Daughters of the Polo God is a 2018 Indian Meitei-English bilingual documentary film directed by Roopa Baruah and edited by Hemanti Sarkar.[1][2] It is based on the story of girls and horses empowering each other. It is about saving the endangered Meitei horse (Manipuri pony) and empowering women in the sport of polo (Meitei: Sagol Kangjei) simultaneously.[2][3]

The film is about Meitei women moving forward in the male-dominated sportive society of polo sports. It also shows the development of their special relationship with their Meitei horses (Manipuri ponies). They are always trying at their best levels to be able to participate in the annual polo tournament.[citation needed]

The film starts with Sagol Kangjei (Old Manipuri: Sakol Kangchei), the ancient form of form of polo as a wartime peace exercise in Antique Kangleipak (Ancient Manipur). It was a war game. That means the sport was placed during peacetime so warriors could practice their war skills. It ended up with the present day advancements of the Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association. It creates a cultural, ecological, historical and social relationship between the sport, the horses, and the ethnic groups of humans who live in that part of the world.[4]

Background

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The polo started in the far corner of the North East India (Ancient Manipur). It has been developed there for many centuries. At the same time, Women's empowerment has been very active in the history of Manipur. Roopa Barua, the maker of the "Daughters of the Polo God", took interest in these facts. So, she set her project on it.[3] She said,

"A young polo sisterhood is developing in Manipur that ploughs on in spite of adversity and political turmoil. They are intensely connected to their sacred Manipuri pony and play an international tournament every year. My film is a tribute to these polo players, the modern Manipuri women and the pony campaign.[3]"

She spoke to the media that Meitei girls are empowered a lot and have been able to play and do well for themselves. Before the beginning of the journey, the polo girls offered prayers to Marjing, the "Polo God" of Meitei religion (Sanamahism), at his pantheon. And so, the name of the film is also taken from the sense that the polo player girls are the daughters of their beloved father like Polo God of their own ethnic religion. Notably, it took over four years to complete the making of the movie.[3]

Reception

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The Equus Festival takes its winning films on a film tour across North American and European countries. The "Daughters of the Polo God" was also one of the winners. So, it was also shown in the different places.[5] These are:

Venues Month Year
Baltimore Maryland January 2019
Camden South Carolina February 2019
Santa Fe New Mexico March 2019
Meadville Pennsylvania April 2019
Canada September 2019
Scottsdale Arizona September 2019

Screenings

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The film received official entries in many international film festivals organised across the world.[5] These include:

Official entry Seasons Venues
Equus New York Film Festival December 2018 New York
Rajasthan International Film Festival January 2019 Jaipur, Rajasthan
Northeast Film Festival Pune (in collaboration with National Film Archive of India) February 2019 Pune, Maharashtra
Asia's Women Film Festival March 2019 New Delhi, India
UK Asian Film Festival March 2019 United Kingdom
New York Indian Film Festival May 2019 New York
South Asian Film Festival 2019 Vancouver
Tasveer South Asian Film Festival 2019 Seattle
South Asian Film Festival 2019 Montreal
Brahmaputra Film Festival 2019 India
DC South Asian Film Festival 2019 -
Indian Film Festival 2019 Houston
Mustard South Asian Film Festival 2019 Philadelphia
Busan International Animal Rights Film Festival - -

Accolades

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The film received 6 international awards at 5 International Film Festivals held at different countries of the world.[5]

Awards Category Results
New York Indian Film Festival 2019 Best Documentary Short Won
UK Asian Film Festival 2019 Best Documentary Won
Vancouver South Asian Film Festival Best Documentary Won

Equus Festival New York 2018

Directors Award Won
Best Documentary Short Won
Rajasthan International Film Festival 2019 Women Empowerment Award Won

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "People Need To Know That Modern Polo Started In Northeast: Roopa Barua On Her Award-Winning Documentary".
  2. ^ a b "Daughters of the Polo God". FILM FESTIVAL FLIX. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "People Need To Know That Modern Polo Started In Northeast: Roopa Barua On Her Award-Winning Documentary". Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  4. ^ Rawat, Prateek. "AWFF 2019: Sisterhood on display through documentaries Daughters of the Polo God, Roshan and Mani". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "General 5". Kahini Media. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
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