One morning in 1970, two adventurous women named Machi and Poppo set out on what seemingly began as a simple boat picnic. With no rush to return, they let the gentle current guide them along the shimmering waters. Seven days later, they arrived at a beautiful island.

Choosing to make it their home, they returned and brought 42 families from their community and began a new life there. To honour these two women, the island was named Chippo after combining the latter half of each of their names.

This is not a fictional story, but indeed a real-life adventure that depicts the character of the Karen community, a group of people, who, in the early 20th century, migrated from Myanmar (Burma) to the Andaman and Nicobar islands via the Bay of Bengal, looking for work and for an escape from oppression.

Bindu Sajan came across their story quite unexpectedly when she met Pastor Saw Saytha, a member of the Karen community. Through him, she learned many interesting stories about their history, culture and survival.

Thus was born Lost in Transit — a poetic documentary which, in 2022, won the Kerala State Film Academy Award for Best Documentary.

“This journey started as an attempt to understand an interesting community. But as we went deeper into it, we realised how important their history is. It’s something very few people know about. When we interviewed them, we were surprised by the stories they shared. That excitement kept us going,” says Bindu Sajan, the documentary’s director.

“We collected research papers and books about the Karen tribe, and the research work for this documentary took almost six to eight months,” she adds.

The documentary features the Karen people, who live simple lives and depend on hunting and fishing for their livelihood.

Throughout the 20th century, as colonial powers, wartime invasions, and Indian nationalist movements clashed, the Karen people remained peaceful and hardworking, even as their way of life was constantly disrupted by the shifting regimes.

The documentary explores their history, mythology, and culture while also telling the story of the oppression that continues to stifle their homeland.

The crew spent nearly three weeks living on the island before the shoot to build a relationship with the community.

“We couldn’t just walk in and start filming; no one had ever shot anything there before. It was an entirely new concept for them,” Bindu says.

Pastor Saw Saytha, the island’s spiritual leader, played a huge role in rallying the community’s support. After that, even part of the production was crowdfunded by the Karen villagers themselves.

“It was an unexpected and sweet gesture,” Bindu reflects.

Their crew was very small, with Pramod Raj handling one camera, Subin Babu another, and Bindu Sajan managing the third. They had to bring all their logistical equipment from the main island to the remote location, which was expensive, so they kept the crew and equipment minimal.

Abu handled the editing and sound work, while Kanchana Manilal did magic with animations. Sajan Gopalan wrote the script, and Nisha Mukundan and Ambily Vijayakumar provided the commentary in Malayalam and English.

The challenge wasn’t just the travel — it was also dealing with the unpredictable climate.

Bindu recalls some incidents: “Two days of our shooting were completely stopped because of the weather. One day, while filming at sea, our boat engine stopped working and we were stranded in the middle of the ocean for 14 hours with no way to communicate. Heavy rain meant we couldn’t even take our cameras out. We just sat there, doing nothing. It was one of the riskiest moments of my life.”

“However, the Karen women who were with us remained calm. They caught fish, prepared it, and ate it as if it was just another day. They have a unique bond with the sea. It was an unforgettable experience for us,” she recalls

The documentary has its own history. The shooting took place 12 years ago, but when they returned home and completed the rough cut, disaster struck.

“We lost so much footage, and I lost confidence in continuing the project. That was 12 years ago when my son was in the 9th standard,” she recalls. Years later, her son Abu, who had grown into an editor, encouraged her in 2022 to restart the project.

Some additional scenes, which wasn’t part of the original plan, were filmed in Myanmar. Later, they became a valuable addition to the documentary.

Lost in Transit was screened at prestigious international film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the Bolivia Black Cat Festival, and the Signs Film Festival.

“After winning the Kerala State Film Academy Award, we uploaded it on YouTube. Some colleges reached out to us for screenings and discussions. I believe this should happen more often because this is a part of India’s history, linked to the freedom struggle. There’s so much valuable information in it, and I think it would be great if it were screened in schools and colleges for educational purposes. We are working on it,” Bindu says.