First Monpa film selected for German festival

Sonam, the first-ever feature film in Monpa language of Arunachal Pradesh, which had won a Rajat Kamal in 2005, apart from getting selected for the Indian Panorama in 2006, has been selected for the competitive section of the 8th Tegernsee International Mountain Film Festival in Germany later this month.

Directed by Ehsan Mujid, Sonam, meaning ‘the fortunate one’, is based on a well-known Assamese novel by Sahitya Akademi award winning author Yeshe Dorje Thongshi, who himself comes from the Monpa tribe.

Shot in the snowy heights of the eastern Himalayas in the Tawang region, the film has also helped Arunachal Pradesh attract a large number of tourists to the state.