Dancing to the rhythm in Oz

Goa's award-winning film is headed down under for the second time in three months. With as many as eight shows lined up across Australia in November, the highly-acclaimed Konkani movie 'Nachom-ia Kumpasar' (Let’s dance to the rhythm) has already built up excitement among Goan and Indian settlers, as they eagerly anticipate Goa's blockbuster.

The film had received accolades earlier in August, when it was first screened at the fourth Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, southern hemisphere's largest annual celebration of Indian cinema. A total of six shows in Australia -- Brisbane (2), Melbourne (4), Perth (1) and Adelaide (1) -- have been meticulously planned throughout November. The two Brisbane screenings will be held on November 15 at Griffith Film School, South Brisbane at 11 am and 3 pm, while in Melbourne, the screenings will take place on November 8 and November 15 at 2 pm and 5 pm at Campus Cinema, 21 Chancellors Walk, Monash University Wellington road, Clayton. In Perth, Western Australia, the screening will be at Readings Cinema, Knutsford Ave & Fulham Street, Belmont, while the Adelaide screening will be at Greater Union Cinema, Kilkenny, Arndale Central, on November 8 at 3 PM.

Club de Goa in Brisbane, a non-profit organisation established in 1989 to help preserve and promote Goan culture, besides creating a friendly spirit of understanding and co-operation between its members and the people of Australia, is co-ordinating the two screenings of 'Nachom-ia Kumpasar' in Brisbane. The Club's young President, Regan Vaz, claims that Indians, especially Goans and Mangaloreans in Brisbane, are anxiously awaiting the film. “Most of these people have only heard about this movie through people who were lucky to watch it while in Goa,” says Regan, voicing confidence that the two shows would be sold out much before the screenings.

For Goans in Melbourne, this will be the second opportunity to watch Nachom-ia Kumpasar. The film had received accolades and good reviews in August, when the film was first screened at the fourth Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. “Konkani films are rarely screened in Australia, the first one being Jitendra Shikerkar, black comedy film 'Mortoo' early last year in Melbourne. But 'Nachom-ia Kumpasar' has a total different appeal,” states Mario Carvalho, a long-time Goan and established promoter of Konkani here in Melbourne. “The film has received great reviews and everyone is looking forward to the screening,” he added.

Established Goan including Brian D’Souza and Jose Coelho (Jesit) have been working overtime so that the large Goan community gets the opportunity to watch the screenings. The excitement is no different in Perth, which has over a thousand Goans. The trio comprising Caesar Pereira, Benjamin Dias and Newton Marquis have been making all out efforts to make the screening a success. In fact, Perth’s only full-time ethnic Radio station 6EBA did make regular announcements about the screening in an effort to promote the screening of the film.

Like Brisbane and Perth, Adelaide will get to screen the Konkani language film for the first time. The movie will have subtitles for the benefit of those who need help in understanding Konkani. During the Adelaide screening, organisers have planned an auction of Goan sweets and food to raise funds for Beth-Bethlehem, a non-profit, non-sectarian association set up in Karwar-India for the rehabilitation of mentally disturbed individuals, irrespective of age, caste, creed or community.

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Nachom-ia Kumpasar is a Konkani film based on the lives of two musicians, Chris Perry and Lorna. The film, which takes its title from the name of a song by the two artists, was directed by Bardroy Barretto.

Much of the publicity for the screening was based on word of mouth or through social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.

The award-winning film, which has been running successfully in London, was also part of the 10th Seattle Film Festival on October 17, the largest South Asian Film Festival in the United States of America.