Bela

Prantik Narayan Basu's film is based on a story that first appeared in his short, Sakhisona, which fetched him the Riger short film award at Rotterdam international film festival in 2017. Members of the Manbhum Sramjibi Chhau Nritya Dal take centre stage in Bela. The documentary is set in the village of Purulia in West Bengal. Basu closely tracks the community of dancers, paying attention to the gendered division of labour, while emphasising a paean to protect and preserve endangered modes of storytelling traditions. Bela premiered at Rotterdam in 2021.