In
a far away place called Sikkim, beneath Mount Kangchendzonga there is a legend
of a magical place called Nye Mayel Kyong, that no one has ever seen. This
is a story a hunter who stumbles upon Nye Mayel Kyong while he is hunting a
wild boar in the forest. The boar is no
ordinary animal and Nye Mayel Kyong is no ordinary place….
The
hero of the film is the young hunter chasing a wild boar through the
forest. The boar reveals itself to be a
magical creature from a mythical land and as
he tries to escape he transforms into four magical creatures. The hunter himself undergoes a transformation
when he realizes that he cannot hunt any more, but must return to the world to
help those in need.
The
film will be animated using 2D and 3D techniques with a combination of hand drawn cel animation and computer technology,
as tested by animators at the workshop held at the Nyamgyal Institute of Tibetology in 2010 to develop this film.
The hand painted backgrounds depict the lush, verdant landscape and mountains of Sikkim and t he four magical creatures evoke the four
seasons. As the hunter enters Nye Mayel Kyong, the art style of the
film is inspired by the intricate Thangka paintings of
the region.
The
Lepcha people have a rich tradition of music and songs, and the film has a
musical soundtrack composed by Lepcha musicians and played on indigenous
instruments for this first animation film from Sikkim . The
cartoon characters designed by comic book artist Pankaj
Thapa are appealing to children in their simplistic style.
The
film will be made by artists, animators and media professionals from Sikkim . The
film will be in English, and it will also be dubbed into Lepcha and Nepali for the
local audience. There will also be a
Hindi language version for national screenings. Nye Mayel Kyong is part of the Tales of the Tribes, a
half hour series of animated folk stories from North East India.
The series will be available for screenings
in cultural centres and schools and it will be available for regional and
national broadcast.
The film has received support from the Commonwealth Foundation, INTACH, the Nyamgyal Institute of Tibetology, Echostream, the Directorate of Handloom and Handicraft (Sikkim) and the National Geographic All Roads Seed Grant.
A thought about the animation film from Sikkim:
ReplyDeleteConsiderable time is spent on the chase sequence, when the boar transforms into the four magical creatures of Buddhism, and the hunter only enters Nye Mayel Kyong in the second half of the story...this shows that it is not about reaching a goal or destination, but about the journey and transformations on the way. In Nye Mayel Kyong, nothing really happens (except that life goes on for the six couples in a single day), and the hero has to return to the world. This shows that once you reach the goal, one just has to carry on, and do ones duty to help others. It suits the character of the Boddhisatva to do this.