Rima Das on Village Rockstars' elimination from Oscars race: Love we've got is beyond any of our wildest dreams

The road to the Oscars has ended for Village Rockstars director Rima Das. But looking back at the journey of the Assamese drama, she says it has been one full of love, hopes and aspirations. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on 17 December announced that nine films have advanced to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 91st Academy Awards. “Village Rockstars”, a little film with a big heart, was not one of them. Sharing a heart-warming photograph of the children in the film, Das wrote an emotional Instagram post about the love that the movie has received in a journey that has seen it travel to festivals in the nooks and corners of the world.

Village Rockstars is set in Das’ own village of Chhaygaon in Assam. The film follows Dhunu, a girl who grows up in poverty and learns to fend for herself. However, that does not prevent her from following her dream of forming a rock band and owning a guitar someday. Starring Bhanita Das in the lead role, the film had its world premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and has traversed prestigious international and national film festivals, besides bagging the Best Feature Film trophy at the 65th National Film Awards, as well as winning honours for Best Child Artist, Best Location Sound Recordist and Best Editing.