Nani Ma—2022 Documentary | O Foundation (OFDN)

★★★★☆
“quite a visual treat.“

—Benjamin Franz, Film Threat

“Refulgent colours of life.”

—Anindita Sahoo, IIT Madras, India

“Loving homage to family and culture.”

—Rebecca Cherry, Film Carnage

“Impending loss captured with tenderness and compassion.“

—ATRI PRASAD ROUT, Orissa Post

★★★★☆

“Nani Ma brilliantly showcases the dialect through Masamoni Panigrahi’s sing-song poems, stories, bridal songs, and death songs. It’s quite the cultural showcase.“

—Benjamin Franz, Film Threat

“Though issues of language and culture are politically polarising, Panigrahi’s choice of human subject, his grandmother, seems more personal than political.“

—Atri Prasad Rout, Orissa Post

“Nanima’s narrative creatively portrayed.“

—Dr. Bhagban Prakash, Author

“First-ever documentary film in the spoken tongue of northern region of Odisha—Baleswari.“

—Sambad, Odia Newspaper

About the film

A 95-year-old grandma in a tiny eastern Indian town battles dementia, endangering the folklore and songs she remembers. None ever recorded those words that carry the agony of the 1866 Famine of Orissa for generations. Her last days are counted. She never got to sit on a plane. Will her words travel any far?

Nani Ma was selected for the Mozilla Festival 2023 (International Premiere), Lift-Off Filmmaker Sessions (UK), and was premiered at Bakul Foundation, Bhubaneswar (India).

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