Goa’s film at Dehradun Film Festival brings traditional Goldsmithing to National Spotlight

my uttarakhand news Bureau
Dehradun, 5 Oct: Porvorim filmmaker Prachi Shirodkar’s Konkani documentary ‘Bhaangar Kalakusar Karigiri’ was the only film from Goa selected for the 11th Dehradun International Film Festival, where it was screened at Tulas University in Dehradun.
At a festival bringing together films, filmmakers and personalities from across India, Goa had a single representation on screen ‘Bhaangar Kalakusar Karigiri’, directed by young Goan filmmaker Prachi Shirodkar.
The selection places a lesser-seen side of Goa before audiences outside the state. For decades, Goa’s public image has largely been shaped by its coastline — beaches, tourism, nightlife and its Portuguese-era architectural heritage. While these remain important parts of Goa’s cultural identity, the state’s history also extends deep into its villages, traditional occupations, artisanal communities and craft practices that have survived through generations.

Directed, shot and narrated by Prachi Shirodkar and edited by Mario Pimenta, the Konkani documentary explores the traditional goldsmithing community of Goa, documenting its craftsmanship, techniques, cultural significance and the lived realities of artisans working to preserve an inherited skill.
The film features Goan artisans Rashila Shirodkar, Virendra Rivankar and Pranay Shirodkar, offering an intimate look at their artistry and the knowledge passed from one generation to another. Rather than presenting Goa solely through its familiar coastal imagery, the documentary turns its camera towards a traditional community and a form of craftsmanship deeply connected to the social and cultural history of Goan villages.

Bhaangar Kalakusar Karigiri was produced under the guidance of Agnelo D’Souza at Don Bosco College, Panjim. The project emerged from an academic filmmaking exercise but developed into a documentary that has since travelled beyond Goa, giving wider audiences an opportunity to encounter an aspect of Goan heritage that rarely finds space in mainstream representations of the state.
The 11th Dehradun International Film Festival was a three-day celebration of cinema featuring films from different genres and cultural backgrounds. The festival also brought together personalities from the Indian film industry, including Shweta Tripathi, Deepak Parashar, Mukesh Rishi, Rajesh Tailang, Arjun, Gauri Pradhan Tejwani, Hiten Tejwani, Hemant Pandey and Rajiv S. Ruia, among others.
Against this larger national gathering, Goa’s presence through a single Konkani documentary gave the screening an added significance. The film not only represented the state at the festival but also carried a story of Goa that exists beyond its conventional tourism image.