Daughters of the Polo God

Daughters of the Polo God is a 2018 Indian documentary movie.  It is in two languages: Meitei and English. Roopa Baruah directed it. Hemanti Sarkar edited it. The story is about saving the endangered Meitei horse (Manipuri pony) and empowering women in the sport of polo () at the same time.

The movie is about Manipuri women in polo sports.  In India, polo is mostly played by men. It also shows the way they work with their Meitei horses (Manipuri ponies). The players in the documentary work very hard so they can go to the annual polo tournament.

The movie begins with Sagol Kangjei (), the ancient form of polo in Antique Kangleipak (Ancient Manipur). It was a war game.  That means the sport was placed during peacetime so warriors could practice their war skills. It ended up with the present day advancements of the Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association. It creates a cultural, ecological, historical and social relationship between the sport, the horses, and the ethnic groups of humans who live in that part of the world.

 Background 

The polo started in the far corner of the North East India (Ancient Manipur). It has been developed there for many centuries. At the same time, Women's empowerment has been very active in the history of Manipur. Roopa Barua, the maker of the "Daughters of the Polo God", took interest in these facts. So, she set her project on it. She said, 
"A young polo sisterhood is developing in Manipur that ploughs on in spite of adversity and political turmoil. They are intensely connected to their sacred Manipuri pony and play an international tournament every year. My film is a tribute to these polo players, the modern Manipuri women and the pony campaign."
She spoke to the media that Manipuri girls are empowered a lot and have been able to play and do well for themselves. Before the beginning of the journey, the polo girls offered prayers to Marjing, the "Polo God" of Meitei religion, at his temple. And so, the name of the movie is also taken from the sense that the polo player girls are the daughters of their beloved father like Polo God of their own ethnic religion. Notably, it took over four years to complete the making of the movie.

 Awards 
The movie gets 6 international awards at 5 International Film Festivals. These are held at different countries of the world.
 Awards Category Results New York Indian Film Festival 2019 Best Documentary Short  UK Asian Film Festival 2019 Best Documentary   Vancouver South Asian Film Festival Best Documentary Equus Festival New York 2018 Directors Award  Best Documentary Short  Rajasthan International Film Festival 2019 Women Empowerment Award 

 Reception 
The Equus Festival takes its winning films on a film tour across North American and European countries. The "Daughters of the Polo God" was also one of the winners. So, it was also shown in the different places. These are:
 Venues Month Year Baltimore Maryland January 2019 Camden South Carolina February 2019 Santa Fe New Mexico March 2019 Meadville Pennsylvania April 2019 Canada September 2019 Scottsdale Arizona September 2019

 Screenings 
The movie received official entries in many international film festivals. These are organised across the world. These include:
 Official entry Seasons Venues Equus New York Film Festival December 2018 New York Rajasthan International Film Festival January 2019 Jaipur, Rajasthan Northeast Film Festival Pune (in collaboration with National Film Archives of India)  February 2019 Pune, Maharashtra Asia's Women Film Festival March 2019 New Delhi, India UK Asian Film Festival March 2019 United Kingdom New York Indian Film Festival May 2019 New York South Asian Film Festival 2019 Vancouver Tasveer South Asian Film Festival 2019 Seattle South Asian Film Festival 2019 Montreal Brahmaputra Film Festival 2019 India DC South Asian Film Festival 2019 - Indian Film Festival 2019 Houston Mustard South Asian Film Festival 2019 Philadelphia Busan International Animal Rights Film Festival - -

 Related pages 
 Origin of Polo
 Marjing
 Mangka Mayanglambam

 References 

 Other websites 
 Daughters of the Polo God IMDb
 Daughters of the Polo God South Asia Institute 
 Daughters of the Polo God at NYIFF 
 Daughters of the Polo God at New York

Category:Meitei culture
Category:Women's rights
Category:2018 movies
Category:2010s Indian movies
Category:Meitei-language movies