{"id":99482,"date":"2024-12-26T12:09:51","date_gmt":"2024-12-26T06:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=99482"},"modified":"2024-12-26T12:09:51","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T06:39:51","slug":"bhargav-saikias-debut-feature-bokshi-a-folk-horror-fantasy-set-in-the-forests-of-northeast-india-to-have-its-world-premiere-at-the-prestigious-international-film-festival-rotterdam-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=99482","title":{"rendered":"Bhargav Saikia\u2019s debut feature, BOKSHI, a folk horror fantasy set in the forests of Northeast India to have its World Premiere at the prestigious International Film Festival Rotterdam 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

First look teaser and poster out \u00a0<\/b>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2nKLfpXRuEM<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Goa Khabar: <\/b>Bhargav Saikia\u2019s directorial debut feature\u00a0Bokshi\u00a0<\/i><\/b>(witch in Nepali),\u00a0<\/i>a folk horror fantasy shot in the deep forests of Sikkim in Northeast India<\/b>,\u00a0<\/i>will have its\u00a0World Premiere\u00a0<\/b>at the prestigious\u00a0International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)\u00a0<\/b>2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The film is selected in the\u00a0Harbour section\u00a0<\/b>which\u00a0is named after Rotterdam\u2019s port city identity and focuses on a wide range of contemporary cinema from across the world. The festival will be held from\u00a0Jan 30-Feb 9th 2025.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The poster and trailer is out now\u00a0https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2nKLfpXRuEM<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Bhargav earlier wrote and directed an award-winning fantasy short which was an\u00a0adaptation of Ruskin Bond’s\u00a0The Black Cat<\/i><\/b>\u00a0starring\u00a0Tom Alter<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0Shernaz Patel.<\/b>\u00a0Talking\u00a0about\u00a0the first look teaser he\u00a0says, \u201cThe first teaser of Bokshi gives a glimpse into the immersive and chilling supernatural world of the film that is inhabited by witches, spirits and shamans. It also introduces the viewer to the young protagonist\u2019s dark coming-of-age journey aided by a mysterious high school teacher.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Filmmaker\u00a0Anurag Kashyap<\/b>\u00a0<\/b>who found the\u00a0Bokshi\u00a0<\/i><\/b>teaser quite\u00a0intriguing shared it on his instagram page-\u00a0https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/anuragkashyap10\/reel\/DD4N6nOOF0k\/<\/a>
\n<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Troubled teen, Anahita, finds comfort in Shalini, the mysterious History teacher leading a trek to a little-known prehistoric site, dubbed ‘The Navel’. This unconventional school trip into an ancient forest turns eerie as cryptic connections emerge between the Navel and a cult that worships Bokshi, a much-feared folkloric demoness from antiquity. Falling in line with Shalini’s insidious designs, Anahita finds herself tested as the Navel nears and the long-forgotten myth of Bokshi unfurls, forcing her to confront the horrors of her past.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Director\u2019s Statement\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

I am particularly drawn to stories that explore life and the human condition through the prism of the fantastical and the macabre.\u00a0Bokshi\u00a0<\/i>is one such story that follows the coming-of-age journey of a teenage girl haunted by the demons of her past. Told through the genres of folk horror and fantasy, it is a cautionary tale of feminine rebellion with elements of witchcraft, shamanism and eco-horror. I was born and raised in Northeast India where\u00a0Bokshi\u00a0<\/i>is also set. The film takes place in this mystical region which abounds with rich traditions of folklore, myths and legends. One of the facets of\u00a0Bokshi\u00a0<\/i>that I am especially excited about is the incorporation of \u201cBoksirit\u201d, a fully developed fictional language spoken by the witches in the film. This invented language, presented as the progenitor of all modern languages, has been exclusively created for\u00a0Bokshi\u00a0<\/i>by renowned Dutch linguist, Jan van Steenbergen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  First look teaser and poster out \u00a0https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2nKLfpXRuEM Goa Khabar: Bhargav Saikia\u2019s directorial debut feature\u00a0Bokshi\u00a0(witch in Nepali),\u00a0a folk horror fantasy shot in the deep forests of Sikkim in Northeast India,\u00a0will have its\u00a0World Premiere\u00a0at the prestigious\u00a0International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)\u00a02025.\u00a0 The film is selected in the\u00a0Harbour section\u00a0which\u00a0is named after Rotterdam\u2019s port city identity and focuses on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25169,"featured_media":99483,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[155,6],"tags":[3794],"class_list":["post-99482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-155","category-6","tag-featured"],"read":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/25169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99482"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99484,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99482\/revisions\/99484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/99483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}