Films know no boundaries and the passion to make good films made Xu Jianshang land in the Garo hills of Meghalaya, far from her Beijing base.

Jianshang was a student at Beijing Film Academy when she met Dominic Sangma from Meghalaya, a alumnus of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, at the Students’ Film Festival in the Chinese capital in 2014.

Jianshang, 28, liked Dominic’s approach towards filmmaking and the duo shared their ideas. In 2016, she agreed to produce his Garo film Ma.Ama.

“We shared a lot of similar ideas on how to make a film. We realised that we need to support each other if we want to make films and that’s how we came on board. I admire the kind of films Dominic wants to make and therefore I wanted to support his project,” Jianshang told The Telegraph.

Ma.Ama narrates the story of a 90-year-old protagonist who has lived every day for the past 30 years yearning to reunite with his wife in afterlife. The film has won the National Award, besides some of the major honours across the globe.

“The story of Ma.Ama is universal though there are cultural differences. I don’t think cultural boundaries are important here. One thing that really touched me in making Ma.Ama is that it focused on an old man’s journey. There are not many films that deal with the elderly,” she added.

“When I was writing Ma.Ama, I mailed Jianshang. She replied that she would like to finance the film but she didn't have much funds. It was a small-budget film. Initially, Jianshang sent some money and I started shooting. When I sent her the footage, she was pleasantly surprised to learn that with that small amount I could shoot in Meghalaya. I'm happy that she gave me complete freedom to do what I want to do,” Dominic,

32, said.

Jianshang also believed that independent filmmakers should unite and work together to survive. “The struggle of an independent filmmaker is the same everywhere. We need to help each other and find people who believe in you. Just keep moving with one project after another, you shall find a way,” Jianshang, who also collaborates with Dominic in his second project, The Rapture, added.

The Rapture, started in 2018, has been selected in the La Fabrique Cinéma in France this year.

The word rapture in the title has been taken from the Bible that denotes the disappearance of good souls before the end of time. The film is about the disappearance of some people from a Garo hills village and how local residents react to the incident.

“I brought the project to the Busan Asian School Projects. The film was selected in Film Bazaar, a platform to encourage collaboration between South Asian and international film communities. We also have a Dutch co-producer on board. Next November, I will bring this project to Talents Tokyo, a talent development programme for aspiring and independent filmmakers,” she said.