During her childhood, Vikeyeno Zao had heard beguiling accounts of the tattooed head hunters of the Konyak tribe in her home state of Nagaland. So fascinated was she with these tales that later, when Zao went on to pursue a film course in Delhi, she made up her mind to return home and capture the magnificent memoirs of the few surviving 'erstwhile' head hunters on film. When Zao made the 15-minute short film, 'Last of the Tattooed Head Hunters', she not only fulfilled her long cherished dream, she also became the first filmmaker from the Northeast, whose work was showcased under in the short film section at the recent 63rd Cannes Film Festival 2010 in France.

* 'Apart from the tricky task of convincing the natives to re-enact scenes for her film, Zao had to face logistic problems like bad roads and frequent power cuts.'