.. The year is 2001. Sparked by a curiosity about their own cultural identity, two filmmakers from India, Desmond Nazareth <des...@yahoo.com> and Christopher Rego, decide to embark on a journey. To explore the fascinating five-century long saga of the rise and fall of the Estado da India -- Portugal's Eastern Empire.
See the 69-minute pitch video for a six-part historical TV series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJcMoBal39g&t=53s Over two years, armed with just a small digital camera and lapel microphone, they patiently retrace the footprints of the Empire in India and Portugal. It reaches: * Goa * Daman * Diu * Mumbai (Bombay) * Vasai * Thane * Chennai (Madras) * Cochin * Lisbon * Vidigueira * Sines Two decades later, *Souls and Spices* was received with much interest by the few who saw it in private screenings. Portugal’s RTPI channel commissioned the team to make a 13 episode TV series called “Contacto Goa’, looking at the cultural legacy left behind by the Portuguese in India. But the two filmmakers didn't realise the goal of finding financial support to support the story of the 'Estado da India' to the world. They have now released *Souls of Spices* via YouTube. Although an unfinished project, they feel there's a global audience out there who will find it of interest to view the "proposal" video. They say: "The story that *Souls and Spices* set out to tell continues to remain largely unknown." Please comment below the video, at the link above. You can email ultrafilmandvi...@gmail.com By the way, the ~60 hours of digitized raw footage and the associated transcripts were handed over to Fundaçao Oriente, Goa and subsequently housed in the archives of Fundaçao Oriente in Lisbon for safekeeping. Accredited scholars of Indo-Portuguese history can access and make use of the same. ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS: DESMOND NAZARETH is principal founder of India's first and only 'field-to-bottle' and 'forest-to-bottle' craft distillery. He pioneered Indian Agave spirits and heritage Indian Mahua spirits. A serial entrepreneur, he studied pure and applied sciences, computer science and multimedia (BTech, IITM; MA, Temple Univ., Phila). He is based in Goa. CHRISTOPHER REGO is Creative Director, Paani Foundation, a non-profit organisation which uses the power of communication to inspire grassroots change among village communities. He was also part of the core team that created the acclaimed Indian television show 'Satyamev Jayate'. Christopher is an M.A. in Sociology, and a Film Direction graduate from FTII, Pune. He worked for over two decades as an independent filmmaker and television producer based in Bombay. His work includes 20 full-length documentaries; over 50 hours of TV programming; music videos, corporate, promotional, public service, educational and training films. -- FN* फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا +91-9822122436