An original production by Piedade Youth Association, ‘Xim- Divar: A Story of Boundaries, Beyond Boundaries,’ was shot during the first wave of the Covid lockdown in 2020. The documentary is directed by John Lino De Melo and Brijesh Kakodker and produced and presented by Piedade Youth Association. Kakodker is also the DOP and editor while De Melo has done the research and development and the music. The technical design and production is by Beato D’Mello and the assistant directors are Kevin Do Rego and Freddy Ferrao. The art is by Clarence Fernandes and the background support was lent by Sanjay Naik and Anish Do Rego.
The film features different villagers of the island who tell their tales of their Bonderam celebrations. The history of the festival is narrated by the old timers of Divar, including Catherine Serrao, the oldest living resident of Divar.
The 40 minute documentary brings together different elements of the festival and yet Brijesh Kakodker feels that he needs to add more footage from this year’s grand celebrations to the documentary. “I have always been attached to the island of Divar and the celebration of life at Bonderam. I had shot a short video earlier and when the lockdown came in and we knew that Bonderam would not happen in its unique style, I pitched the idea to the Piedade Youth Association about the documentary. It took us three weeks to get the interviews by talking to the villagers and the Piedade Youth Association members and creating the video which showcases the celebrations, history of Divar, food, music and delicacies. We even focused on the boundary wars and the fottash,” says Kakodker.
Due to the first wave of Covid, the lockdown was a completely new experience and yet the Diwadkars were welcoming to the crew of Xim. “The topic is very close to the people’s heart and we followed all the Covid related protocols but the people were very cooperative. The only challenge we faced was the short time frame to create the video. I couldn’t go to record in the studio and so I still need to add more elements to the documentary which we plan to take to different film festivals around the world,” says Kakodker.
From the story behind the 12 flags for Bonderam, the 38 sluice gates on the island to the need for a self sufficient system with agriculture, coconuts and fish for the islands, all major aspects of the life of Divar has been covered in this documentary.
