The aspiring and promising, Bendang Walling has been selected as Film Fellow by the Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) to be held in November, 2016. Bendang Walling’s submission film for the fellowship is his very first short film ‘Blissful.’
The Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) is a non-profit undertaking presented by White Crane Arts & Media Trust.
The DIFF Film Fellowship is for budding young filmmakers across the Himalayan belt of India which will be held during the festival in November 2016. The fellowship was started in 2014 with the aim of encouraging filmmaking talent by bringing five selected filmmakers to attend DIFF and providing them with the opportunity to receive mentorship from established filmmakers. This year’s mentors are filmmakers Anupama Srinivasan and Umesh Kulkarni.
Bendang Walling is a freelance theatre and film artist from Nagaland. Inspired by Kim Ki-Duk and Majid Majidi, Bendang dreams of becoming an auteur and develop his own cinematic language. He wishes to explore the hills of Nagaland for the treasure troves of folklores, myths and tales. The others selected included Tourangbam Andy - a budding photographer from Imphal, Manipur, and Vishal Langthasa - a Mumbai-based video producer and photographer from Assam.
Some of the awards and acknowledgements achieved by Bendang Walling are NEZCC- Ministry of Culture Talented Artistes Award 2008-09, for Theatre; Ao Student’s Excellency Award 2009, for Theatre; Changkikong Student’s Conference, Awardee for theatre; Acting role in the Bollywood film “Detective Byomkesh Baksi.”
Bendang has also directed a handful of plays including Jina & Etiben (2016); Wizard of Oz (2014); Morusa (2014); Don’t Women, No Cry (2014); Marriage in the Land of Death (2014); Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2013); The Wedding (2013); Chimti: The Ant (2012); N.H. 39 (2011); The Third Eye (2009). He has also debuted as film director with Blissful (2016).
