Lipika Singh Darai

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA under Productions, will be a 30-minute docufiction film titled Rediscovering Sita Bibaha. The film will discover the captivating history of Sita Bibaha, the first Odia film from the state of Odisha, and explore its forgotten legacy—its missing print, its profound influence on Odia cinema, and its role in shaping the cultural heritage of the region. Lipika Singh Darai is the Coordinator for this project.

Odisha-based Lipika Singh Darai is a film director and editor. She belongs to the Ho indigenous community. She is trained in sound recording and design at the Film and Television Institute of India. She has directed and edited several documentaries and fiction films. She has received four National Film Awards, India’s prestigious cinema awards, for direction, sound recording, and narration. Her latest feature documentary ‘Backstage’ produced by Films Division of India had its world premiere at 39th Asolo Art Film Festival 2021 Italy, in feature competition. Her film Night and Fear (2023) premiered at IFFR in the Tiger Short Competition. Her debut fiction feature Birdwoman has received the Hubert Bals Script Development Fund 2023. She was selected for Bafta Breakthrough-India 2023. Given her expertise she is best placed to be the Project Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA. Surya Deo will be a collaborator on this project.

As one of the very few independent filmmakers from Odisha and the only woman documentary filmmaker of the region, Lipika is very interested in making films in the regional context and on subjects related to the art, culture, people, language, and history of Odisha. This film project, Rediscovering Sita Bibaha is an extension of her practice so far. Lipika first got interested in the subject when her collaborator in this project, film historian Surya Deo exposed her to wealth of research materials, including Gramophone records of musically narrated versions of the film, artist contracts, copies of the original posters, newspaper articles, and extensive information about the film Sita Bibaha (1936) which he has collected over the years. She was instantly drawn to the mission of recovering the lost print of Odisha's first film, directed by Mohan Sunder Deb Goswami of Puri. This journey itself carries a meaningful narrative, whether or not they ever find the film print, along the way, their research and filming offers the possibility of a surprising discovery.

For Lipika the interest in developing this film is personal. Her films have always intended to capture subjects of history, archive traditions, and record the voice of the artist. In Rediscovering Sita Bibaha, she has a similar intention. The film seeks to trace over eight decades of history through the quest for a lost print. Its archival approach shapes the narrative, weaving together oral histories, musical discoveries, photographs, texts, and elusive milestones connected to Sita Bibaha. The film seeks to encompass elements such as— quest, exploration, discovery, documentation, articulation, and expression. The pre-production process is carefully structured, grounded in rigorous research methodologies. This involves gathering diverse materials, incorporating previously collected data from collaborators, and weaving these elements together to craft a compelling narrative. The archival exploration not only forms the backbone of the story but also provides a lens through which to explore broader cultural and historical landscapes. With a blend of investigative inquiry and historical research, the film sets a reflective tone. The music, rich with cultural significance, will complement the interplay of fictional and factual elements, immersing the audience in a journey of discovery. 

Lipika will travel and collaborate with performing artists of Odisha and feature them in the fictional enactments. She plans to shoot the film in Puri, Cuttack along with various landscapes in Odisha and some parts in Kolkata. She will seek more support from organisations like Film Journalists' Forum (FJF) Bhubaneswar, and if funding and support comes through, she will make the film into a 90-minute docufiction instead of a 30-minute short docufiction film.

The outcome of this project will be a film that will be a visually enchanting and metaphorically rich exploration of art, culture, politics and spirituality. The Project Coordinator's deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the 30-minute docufiction film. 

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Practice Programme in the manner in which it creates dialogue about archiving history, the filmmaking landscape of Odisha, and reflects on the filmmaker’s personal practice. 

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.