This screening of Bhor is very emotional for me: Kamakhya Narayan Singh at Woodpecker closing

The seventh Woodpecker International Film Festival (WIFF) was organized from 29 November through 1 December 2019 at the Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi, and showcased films from 14 countries on issues ranging from environmental challenges to human trafficking, public health, migration and culture.

The closing film of the festival was Kamakhya Narayan Singh’s acclaimed Bhor, which examines the battle of a young girl in rural Bihar against patriarchy and an unhygienic lifestyle.

Speaking at the festival, Kamakhya Narayan Singh recalled the time he had spent as a student in Delhi with fondness and thanked all the people who had been a part of his journey thus far. “Delhi is very special for me and this screening of Bhor is very emotional,” the filmmaker said.

He discussed some of the hurdles he had faced in the making of the film. “While making an independent film, one does not have a big budget and my film has a large scale," he said. "We spent quite a bit of money on the film, but if I did not have the support of the people who helped this film I wouldn’t have been able to make it.”

Talking about the story of Bhor, Kamakhya Narayan explained, “The whole story is not inspired by any event, but the characters are inspired by various people.”

Bhor brings to light several issues ranging from gender, caste, the lack of education and awareness, sanitation, as well as the rural-urban divide.

Responding to a question about the film's ending, the director said it was necessary for modes of livelihood to be made available in villages so that people can remain there and find employment instead of fleeing to the cities, which he believes is not a sustainable model.

Bhor, Kamakhya Narayan Singh’s first feature, received an overwhelming response from the audience.