Mau: The Spirit Dreams of Cheraw is a 2023 Indian Mizo-language documentary film directed and produced by Shilpika Bordoloi. The film explores the cultural and ritualistic history of the Cheraw dance of Mizoram, specifically its connection to maternal mortality and the ecological phenomenon of bamboo flowering.
The film received the Best Debut Film of a Director (Non-Feature) at the 71st National Film Awards. It was also selected for the Indian Panorama section at the 54th International Film Festival of India.
Synopsis The documentary uses an ethnographic approach to trace the origins of the Cheraw, popularly known as the "bamboo dance." While contemporary interpretations of the dance are celebratory, the film documents its traditional roots as a ritual performed to guide the soul of a mother who died during childbirth. The narrative parallels human grief with the life cycle of the Melocanna baccifera (locally known as Mau), a bamboo species in Mizoram that flowers once every 48 years and subsequently dies, a phenomenon known as Mautam.
Awards Year Award Category Recipient Result 2023 71st National Film Awards Best Debut Film of a Director (Non-Feature) Shilpika Bordoloi 2023 Chalachitram National Film Festival Best Cinematography Sumedha Bhattacharyya 2024 Northeast International Documentary and Film Festival Best North East Special Award Mau: The Spirit Dreams of Cheraw
References
External links
Mau: The Spirit Dreams of Cheraw at International Film Festival of India