About the Documentary: “Keni: Preserving Indigenous Food Culture” is a documentary film that captures the visual ethnography of the indigenous food culture and ways of life of the Mullukuruman, a scheduled tribal community who inhabits the Wayanad district of Kerala, a southern Indian state. The tribe cooks a variety of foods that extend beyond the purpose of subsistence and that which is related to life cycle rituals such as pregnancy, childbirth, puberty, marriage and death. The Mullukurumans of Wayanad have been living in the agrarian ecosystem and following their own unique socio-cultural adherences and food habits. The documentary has been conceptualized, scripted and directed by Ms Sukanya G (NIAS CSP) with research guidance from Prof Sangeetha Menon, and a group of talented film crew including State awardees. The director of photography is Midhun Eravil, and the editor is Nirmal Baby Varghese. The documentary has been selected by an international jury for the "The Best Documentary Film"and "Best Cinematography" Awards at an International World film festival called INDIE. It was also selected for the Lift-Off Sessions festival in the United Kingdom.
About the Documentary Director: Ms. Sukanya G is a Research Associate with the Consciousness Studies Programme (School of Humanities) at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS). She is pursuing her Ph.D. under the supervision of Prof. Sangeetha Menon on the topic “Indigenous Healing Practices among the Adiyan and Mavilan Tribal Communities of Kerala: An Anthropological Study”. Her research interests include ethnomedicine, tribal studies,ethnography of indigenous communities and indigenous knowledge.
About the Project: The visual ethnographic study and documentary is part of a project of the NIAS Consciousness Studies Programme called “NAVARANG: The Colours, Moods, and Voices of the Marginal and Indigenous Communities”, with the initiative of building textual and visual narratives on tribal healers, ritual arts, food culture, and local ecologies of India. The Project is being supported by the Sheela Kanoria Foundation, New Delhi.