Leepika Singh Darai, a Ho tribal woman from Odisha wins her 3rd National Film Award

Lipika Singh Darai, a Ho tribal from Odisha after winning her 3rd National Film Award has proven that Adivasi women are setting milestones in every field. Darai’s directed movie ‘The waterfall’ is winner of Best Educational Film under non-feature film category in 64th National awards. The complete list of winners can be accessed here.

“The Waterfall traces the evolution of a young city boy to appreciate the value of the environment as well as think critically about climate change and development. On a trip to his ancestral home in the interiors of the state of Orissa in India, he reflects on the nature of his relationship with a beautiful landscape and its relationship in turn with his city life.”

Earlier in 2013, she had won Best debut director award in non-feature film category for odiya film “Eka Gachha Eka Manisa Eka Samudra”.

Her documentary Some Stories Around Witches explores the barbaric practice through three case studies. According to a Scroll article, “Darai says she was profoundly disturbed after meeting the woman. “I went into a depression after meeting the old woman, which delayed the completion of the film,” said Darai, who has won National Film Awards forGaarud (2009), Eka Gachha Eka Mainsha Eka Samudra(2012) and Kankee O Saapo (2013). The awards were returned in 2015 to protest the Centre’s crackdown on the FTII student strike.”

“Hailing from Baripada, Lipika is a professional Audiographer. She has received Degree in Audiography from the prestigious Film and Television Institute (FTI) in Pune. She was first selected for national film award for the year 2009 in audiography for Hindi and Mararthi non-feature film ‘Garuda’. Her talent in Film Direction came to light after her name was announced at the National Film Awards for the year 2012 in non-feature film category”.

Lipika lives with her husband in Bhubaneswar, where she runs Kui Films, a film organization.