SHILLONG, June 3: In a move to promote Meghalaya as a premier film tourism destination, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, on Tuesday, unveiled the draft Meghalaya Film Tourism Policy 2025 at a special gathering of filmmakers, content creators, and media stakeholders.
“We put forth the draft to seek feedback from you. So, please tell us the areas where you feel things should be changed, improved. We’d like to incorporate your ideas so that we can ultimately come up with a very robust policy,” he said, adding that there is a scope for a film institute in Meghalaya and that local filmmakers need more support.
The policy will soon be available on the Meghalaya One portal, with the government inviting public feedback until June 20 to ensure broad-based participation in shaping the final framework.
Aligned with Meghalaya’s Vision 2032 to become a USD 16 billion economy, the Film Tourism Policy is guided by four strategic pillars — promoting Meghalaya as a premier film tourism destination; showcasing the state’s natural beauty, heritage, and culture to national and international filmmakers; strengthening the local film ecosystem and nurturing talent empowering local filmmakers, artists, and storytellers by providing infrastructure, upskilling opportunities, and visibility and positioning Meghalaya as the hub of film production in the Northeast; and creating a competitive and a filmmaker-friendly environment with financial incentives, institutional support, and streamlined facilitation. The policy offers a wide range of benefits, including financial incentives of up to Rs 1.5 crore for films in major Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Marathi; special grants and subsidies for productions that highlight Meghalaya’s heritage, culture, and tourism; support for local content creators, including training and upskilling programmes; incentives for films premiering on Hello Meghalaya, the state’s official OTT platform, with added promotional and visibility support; and encouragement of private investment to establish studios, labs, and post-production infrastructure.
The Chief Minister also outlined a vision for the future, proposing the establishment of a film institute in Meghalaya and ensuring film festivals are rotated across districts like Tura and Jowai, not just in Shillong, so that all regions can participate in this cultural movement.
Highlighting the collaborative spirit of the initiative, national award-winning filmmaker Pradip Kurbah remarked, “These steps are more than just government policies. They are laying the foundation for a sustainable film culture in Meghalaya. For many of us, this is the first time we truly feel there’s a space for our stories here at home.”
He encouraged young filmmakers to stay authentic. “Don’t rush to follow trends. Stay true to your stories, and more importantly, stay true to your heart. Real cinema is about emotion, honesty, and human connection,” he exhorted.
