‘Islands in the Island’ is a beautiful short film by Get Creative Goa in their Goa Stories series and this is the first film that will be released today, August 26, at 6 pm on the Get Creative Channel on YouTube. The ten minute film explores the whole island of Divar and looks at Bonderam from another angle.
Vince Costa is the founder of Get Creative Goa which started during the lockdown and is Goa’s only creative platform for Goan creators. The team behind the film includes Gaspar D’Souza, scriptwriter and editor, Nicole Soares, production supervisor and John Lino De Melo, a Divadkar himself, who knows the island in and out and got the right people to speak for the non-fiction film.
“We believe that Goa is full of stories and it’s our mission to go into the heartlands to unearth them. Our objective through Goan Stories is to pay homage to our land and its people and to bring awareness to the cultural wealth that is all around us. For example, for our first story, we have focused intentionally on the people of Divar, their memories of Bonderam and allowed them to guide us. Gasper and Lino are both accomplished storytellers and I must say have done a brilliant job. We also want to encourage more filmmakers in Goa to come forward and work with us to tell their cultural Goan stories. It’s about time we take control of our own narratives,” says Vince Costa.
“This are a series of short films with our take on Goan festivals. For this story, villagers from both, Malar and Piedade, share their experience on the island and what it means to celebrate the festival of Bonderam, especially for the youth. It’s a tale about the island, the islanders and the festival and about how life was back in the day and present and how times have changed,” says Nicole Soares.
John Lino De Melo is a noted photographer, videographer and a musician and this film was even closer to his heart as he is from the island. “I knew the story but it was important to get the right people who would tell the correct stories. Bonderam is a celebration of an agrarian society and within Piedade, there would be two celebrations by Goltim and Navelim in the past which would include a mock fight with fottash and marking of the boundaries. These stories are brought to life on film in ‘Islands in the Island’”, concluded De Melo.
