Shillong, Oct 4: Kyrshanborlin Wahlang, a young filmmaker from Nongstoiñ, West Khasi Hills and a student of St. Anthony’s College is making a mark in the independent film scene.
The State might not have heard his name yet, but his film, ‘Ki Dak Bym Thoh’ (The Unwritten Words) has travelled the country.
From the prestigious Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival, the film will now travel to Russia to be screened at the Kinovertikal, an annual International Festival and Competition for films directed by children and young adults on October 6.
It has also been officially selected to be screened in Jharkhand at the first Dharti Abba Tribal Film Festival scheduled for October 16 to 18.
Kyrshanborlin had featured the film at the Montage Student Short Film Competition, Hyderabad in 2024. It also became his entry to Frames for Change, the short film festival jointly organized by Cinema for a Cause and Lifeplus Magazine and even bagged a Bronze Award in Talking Films Online, 2025.
‘Ki Dak Bym Thoh’ is a heart-warming 10-minute short film that follows the parallel lives of two children, Phrang and Albert. While Albert excels as a literate student, Phrang, an illiterate boy, dedicates himself to learn the ancestral wisdom passed down from his father, leading to unexpected twists in the plot.
“This story reminds us that sometimes in life, the little things we don’t think matter become the most important ones,” he told Highland Post.
Kyrshanborlin’s journey began in 2019. With untold stories carved inside his mind, he found the passion to translate them and to share the discovery with the society and the audience by first taking part in a short video competition of the Election Commission of India, organised by the West Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner’s Office.
That was the first step for him. With a borrowed phone his short film, ‘My Vote My Voice’ won the second prize. Since then there was no looking back. He joined the mass media course at St. Anthony’s College Shillong.
“When I was in the first semester my desire was to make a short film and submit it to the Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival. So I made use of the college library researching and reading story books, and books that deal with filmmaking courses,” he said.
From the books, the conflagration of thoughts touched the “modern learning and ancestral wisdom of the Khasis”, he said. “With the suggestion of our Head of the Department I got to name this film, “Ki Dak Bym Thoh (The Unwritten Words),” he said.
Kyrshanborlin explained that the title of the film symbolises the wisdom that cannot be found anywhere because it is not written or printed in any books. But the wisdom that Phrang’s father passes down to his child remains as the “unwritten words”.
As a fifth semester student of Mass Communication and Video Production, Kyrshanborlin said balancing academic responsibilities with filmmaking is challenging, especially managing a film’s budget. However, his passion for filmmaking drove him to find creative solutions to overcome these challenges.
Kyrshanborlin had the name of the film, but lacked the financial resources to produce it. A stroke of luck happened. He won Rs 15,000 from a reel making competition organized by the Meghalaya Aids Control Society (MACS). “With this I was able to begin shooting the film,” he added.
Thanking God, friends, family and teacher’s for guidance, Kyrshanborlin looks forward to collaborating with filmmakers from Meghalaya and abroad, and to share stories of the State.
“We have rich culture and traditions. I want the world to know that our small matrilineal society has many great and unique stories to tell,” he said.
