Roopa Barua

Roopa Barua is a fan of the cinematic medium. She seeks to create nuanced cinema that goes beyond geography and human boundaries. Her recent films are the award winning Daughters of the Polo God and Rider of the Mist She is also the Indian co-producer for the yet to be released Argentinian co-production Sisters of the Trees.
PROJECTS:
1) DAUGHTERS OF THE POLO GOD ( Produced & Directed by Roopa Barua)
Trailer:
https://youtu.be/WbWSgV60Al4
Daughters of the Polo God
Format: Documentary, Time: 33 mins
Language: English, Meiteilon with English subtitles
Directed by Roopa Barua
The shimmering emerald state of Manipur, India is the birthplace of modern polo with men having played there for several hundred years. Now it’s the turn for the young maidens to charge forward. 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. Roopa Barua film is a tribute to these polo players and the modern Manipuri women.
AWARDS AND SCREENINGS OF DAUGHTERS OF THE POLO GOD ( released Dec 2018)
1.Festival Directors Award ( the highest award) at the Equus Film Festival New York, 2018.
2. Best Documentary Short at the Equus Film Festival New York 2018
3. Best Regional Film for Women Empowerment at the Rajasthan International Film Festival Janaury 2019
4. Official entry at the Rajasthan International Film Festival, Jaipur 2019
4. Official entry at the Asian Women’s Film Festival, New Delhi 2019
5. Official entry at the Woodpecker Festival New Delhi 2019
6.Official entry at the UK Asian Film Fest
7.Official entry at the Northeast Film Festival Pune in collaboration with National Film Archives of India
8.India premier in Imphal during Manipur Statehood Day International Women’s Polo Tournament.
Equus Festival takes it’s winning films on a film tour of North America and Europe. As part of this tour, Daughters of the Polo God will show at the following. More will be added as the year progresses.
1. Baltimore Maryland – January 25&26, 2019
2. Camden South Carolina – February 18 -24, 2019
3. Santa Fe New Mexico – March 22-24, 2019
4. Meadville Pennsylvania – April 11-14, 2019
5. Canada – June 1-2, 2019
6. Scottsdale Arizona – September 2019
7. Tryon North Carolina – October 2019
2. SISTERS OF THE TREES: ( Argentina India production, Kahini Media is the Indian co-producer)
Trailer:
https://vimeo.com/272925826
Sisters of the Trees(2018) is a documentary, co-produced by Roopa Barua along with the Argentinian trio of producer Victoria Chales, Directors Camila Menéndez and Lucas Peñafort about a village called Piplantri in Rajasthan, India where the people celebrate the birth of a girl child in the family by planting 111 trees on the village’s grazing commons. This initiative began in 2005 and has already turned Piplantri into an oasis. Where there was only mining waste, lack of water and violence against women — today there is greenery, drinking water, literacy and ample employment opportunities for the locals.
3. RIDERS OF THE MIST (Produced and directed by Roopa Barua)
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv7qg8e5qAg
Roopa has also won multiple awards in 2015 for her documentary Riders of the Mist that is about a hundred year old bareback racing tradition in Assam, India with semi-feral ponies. Riders of the Mist premiered in the United States (Houston)in March 2015 and in Europe (Amsterdam) in October 2015. The film continues its festival run and TV broadcasts. Her short film Falkland Road was shown at the Afghan Human Rights Festival 2012. She won the Best Documentary award at the Houston Film Festival, and the Nashik Film Festival. Long Live Cinema considered Riders of the Mist one of the Top Ten best documentaries in India for 2015. It also won the prestigious Equus Award in New York to tour the premier equestrian circuit.