Fireflies is a 2018

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Meitei language Meitei (), also known as Manipuri (, ), is a Tibeto-Burman language of north-eastern India. It is spoken by around 1.8 million people, predominantly in the state of Manipur, but also by smaller communities in the rest of the country and in pa ...

documentary short film, directed by Johnson Rajkumar. It portrays the struggles of the

Meira Paibi Meira Paibi (Women torch bearers) is a women's social movement in the Indian state of Manipur. Referred to as the "guardians of civil society", Meira Paibi dates to 1977 in present Kakching district. It derives its name from the flaming torches wh ...

s to protect the people from crimes in

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

state, and the role of women in the conflicting and male-dominated society of

. It looks at how the gender gap and

gender identities Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

are settled during times of conflict and violence in the society. The film shows women reacting to the rising cases of disappearance of men. This took place after the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was applied to

state. The important point of the movie is that women stand up for the safety, security and better survival of the men.

Plot

In 1980s, when

was exposed to revolutionaries and armed violence, a group of women came out to the streets to uphold peace in the state. These groups were called the

s. They were the freely independent women's organisations. They participated in the willing patrols during the night. They held the flaming torches and tried to bring balance in the society.

Background

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, women are mostly seen to be confined in their homes. In reality, they are the important members of every social movement. But they are always seen as not related. Women of

contributed a lot towards the welfare of the social conditions. This really inspired Johnson Rajkumar, the maker of the "Fireflies". He tried to show the influence of gender roles in conflicts and violence. If men were holding such responsibilities, they would have been falsely grouped into rebels. According to Johnson, the movie shows that women's collective has more to do beyond pro-feminists. Rajkumar went to

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

for higher education. There, he realised that the issues from

and the

North East India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

were not truly represented or interpreted in the national media news. Hence, he created the "Fireflies" to fight the set false stories. He wanted to show the best formal true facts.

Production

The film is financially supported by the "Samaj Pragati Sahayog", a social media platform based in

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

. Additionally, it is supported by the "Film Division of India". Rajkumar is the director of the movie and a Manipuri media activist. He lives in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. He has been making documentary movies on social and political issues. He focuses on social movements and protests.

Accolades and recognition

The film won many awards in international film festivals. These were held in different countries of the world.

Awards

Official selection

References

{{Reflist

External links

Manipuri documentary film selected in Athens, Greece
2010s Meitei-language films 2018 documentary films 2018 films History of Manipur Women in Meitei culture