Far east in the Himalayan border of India and China, lives the tribal Adi people, by the river Siang. The Adi culture is beautiful and unique with shamanic chants of their mythologies of origin, animistic rituals around nature and amicable resolution of disputes in their traditional courts.
With the memories of 1962 Indo-China war still fresh, China now reasserts its territorial claim of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, the land of the Adis.
This conflict is also extended to the water, and is becoming a great Dam war. On both sides of the border mega dams are being built on the elegant Siang that originates in Tibet, turns sharp through the Himalayas and flows down through the Adi villages to join the mighty river Brahmaputra in the valley of North East India.
Will peace return to the borders? Will the Adis stay Indian? Will the mega dams have a catastrophic effect on the rivers – both Siang and the Brahmaputra downstream? Will this tribal culture and language survive – orally, without a script? Will India and China get into a dialogue? Through a series of encounters with the Adis by the Siang, near the old town of Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh, this journey probes for answers and portrays their inspiring resilience and hope.
Filmmaker Joor Baruah, now based in California, United States, was born in the northeast Indian state of Assam. He is personally invested in giving a voice to the tribes of the northeastern states, a much neglected part of India.
The documentary Adi | At The Confluence is now being shown in film festivals in various countries including – United States, India, Germany, Greece, Argentina, Colombia, Malaysia, Canada and Italy. Premiered at the historic Del Mar Theatre in Santa Cruz, California in June 2016, it has so far won Best Documentary awards in 15th Annual Santa Cruz Film Festival 2016 and 9th Annual Hamilton New York Film Festival 2016.
