GUWAHATI: Films, interactive sessions, quiz and more, movie buffs have a feast to savour at the sixth edition of the Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival which will be held at the Pragjyoti ITA Centre here from November 28 to December 1.
What’s more, personalities such as actor, Boman Irani, filmmaker, Shakun Batra and writer-director-producer, Rajesh Mapuskar will attend the festival this year.
The main attraction at the fest will be the screening of films from across the Northeast along with a few invited films from the rest of India. Interactive sessions, in addition to an exclusive film quiz- “Cinemascope”, panel discussions and an award ceremony, are also lined up.
A short film contest was organised as a part of the festival. It was open to filmmakers from the Northeast and for films shot in the Northeast or featuring stories from the region. Over 300 short films were received for the contest and out of all the entries, the top 15 will be screened at the film festival.
The top three winners will be awarded prizes of over Rs 2 lakh in addition to a trophy and certificate. The jury of the short film contest includes experienced filmmakers. The first round jury members are Bhaskar Hazarika from Assam, Meena Longjam from Manipur and Wanphrang Diengdoh from Meghalaya. The second round jury comprises Reema Kagti, Shiladitya Bora and Ronnie Lahiri.
Addressing reporters here on Thursday, festival director, Tanushree Hazarika, said some of the finest films from the Northeast and rest of India would be screened at the festival over four days. Nani Teri Morni from Nagaland, Ralang Road from Sikkim, Chor from Assam and Bornodi Bhotiai from Assam are some of the feature films to be screened at the festival.
Spring Thunder, directed by Sriram Dalton will be the opening film and Assamese film, Bornodi Bhotiai, directed by Anupam Kaushik Borah will be the closing film of the festival. Some of the feature films to be screened at the festival from rest of India are Devil, Rockumentary: Evolution of Indian Rock, The Lost Idea and IYE : The Others.
Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival has been honouring senior filmmakers of the region with a lifetime achievement award to honour their exceptional contribution to cinema in the Northeast.
In the previous years the award has been conferred on Aribam Syam Sharma (2014) from Manipur, Abdul Mazid (2015) from Assam, Jnanada Kakoti (2016) and Munin Barua (2017). This year, the life time award will be conferred on Assamese director, Pulak Gogoi at the awards ceremony on December 1.
The Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival was conceived in the year 2013 with the objective of promoting Northeast cinema and providing a platform for regional filmmakers. The festival also aims to bring great storytellers under one roof, offering the audience a dynamic experience which combines cinema, short films, documentaries, interactive panel discussions and workshops.
The organising team of the festival includes Tanushree Hazarika, who is also the managing director of Tattva Creations; Karma S Paljor, journalist and entrepreneur; Roopa Barua, filmmaker; Pallavi Barua, producer and lawyer and Samujjal Kashyap, national award-winning filmmaker.
Filmmakers, Reema Kagti, the director of Talaash and Gold; Ronnie Lahiri, the producer of October, Piku, Madras Cafe and Pink, actor Adil Hussain; and Shiladitya Bora, the producer of Your Truly, Newtom and Masaan are the honorary advisors who have helped shape the festival.