Set in rural India, Rima Das' latest film, Bulbul Can Sing, picks up where her last film, Village Rockstars (MSPIFF 2018), left off in exploring the stories of young Assamese people with the honest gaze of a filmmaker who grew up in the area. The story follows Bulbul, a teenage girl who, along with her friends Bonny and Sumu, explore sexuality, love, loss and adulthood, all underneath the weight of village expectations, traditions and prejudices. As they discover their changing identities, the three friends are forced to confront society's powerful dogma and choose their own path. Sumu struggles to conform with expectations of beings a man, while Bonny and Bulbul face the suffocating oppression of being young women in a patriarchal world—one that decides how to love and who can sing.
Director Biography
Rima Das returns to MSPIFF after screening her last film Village Rockstars (17), which was India's official entry to the Academy Awards. She has won several accolades during her career, including India's National Award for Best Film and a Prag Cine Award for Best Film.
Press
"[A]n affectionate, insightful, honest look at an ordinary young woman growing up in a male-dominated society" - Hollywood Reporter
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