‘Theatre, Cinema & Culture of Peace’

Patkai MMC dept organises webinar on World Theatre Day

Dimapur, March 27 (MExN): The Department of Multimedia Mass Communication, Patkai Christian College (Autonomous) organized a webinar under the theme ‘Theatre, Cinema and Culture of Peace’ on the occasion of World Theatre Day on March 27. 

On the occasion, the students of first year MMC were awarded cash prizes for winning the quiz and photography competition conducted by the teacher-in-charge Asst Professor Rojen Wahengbam, a press release informed on Saturday. 

In quiz competition; Yanphantsu Kikon and Zachano Lotha received the first prizes while Chipemshon Khamrang and Tsuknungsenla received the second and third prizes respectively. 

In photography competition; Omnyei Konyak received the first prize while Chonsorin Shimray and Chipemshon Khamrang received the second and third prizes respectively.

According to the release, the webinar session had Assistant Professor, National School of Drama, New Delhi Riken Ngomle, film maker from Manipur Lancha Ningthouja, and film maker from Arunachal Pradesh Gungte Tai as the resource persons. 

PCC Vice-Principal Angel Sonari while congratulating the department for organizing talks and workshops on important occasions said, “The department of Multimedia and Mass Communication has so much potential in meeting the employment needs of today’s generation for its dynamic feature.”

The theme ‘culture of peace’ is very relevant in the present time as it highlights the values of peaceful coexistence preventing conflicts and rejecting any form of violence for humanity to sustain, the VP stressed.

MMC Head of Department Dr Dakter Esse welcomed the resource persons and urged the students to make the best out of the session in getting insights on theatre and cinema from the professionals in the field. 

As per the release, award winning film director Lancha Ningthouja known for his films like Mami Sami and Ilisha Amagi Mahao spoke at length on the importance of memories in film making. 

“We should explore our own memories. Our creative process is normally based on memories which are created with experiences and rich stories and these memories need to be transformed into beautiful stories,” Ningthouja stated. He further stated that the Northeast has its own style of expressing its rich culture which can be brought to cinematic and theatrical art forms.

Assistant Professor, National School of Drama, New Delhi Riken Ngomle speaking on the challenges theatre artistes face, recalled how he felt lost when he came back to his state Arunachal Pradesh after graduating from NSD. He expressed how difficult it was to make people understand the importance of theatre adding that theatre can keep traditional folk stories alive.

Coming from a theatre background he said that theatre is an intricate part of human history and before cinema, it was the theatre that connected people with the day to day issues and experiences of life. He also added that theatre plays an important role in the entertainment industry and that many theatre actors are now in the world cinema, Hollywood and Bollywood.   

Ngomle, who is also an actor and director, said being part of the academics now he envisions bringing in more Northeastern people to theatre arts and encouraging them to grow in the field.

Meanwhile, Gungte Tai, a filmmaker from Arunachal Pradesh, sharing his film making journey said that it was his passion towards storytelling that got him the tag of a ‘filmmaker’. “I was never ready to be called a filmmaker. It was sheer passion that brought me to this industry,” he said. 

Encouraging the students to come up with creative ideas, he also advised them to be prepared to face criticism. “If you are passionate about film making, some day or the other people will get to know you. Let your works speak. Creative journey is never easy, it will test your limits but that is how you will learn,” Gungte added. 

The webinar concluded with a vote of thanks from Assistant Professor Sopei J Rungsung, the release stated.