By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Jan 3: A Khasi-language film from Meghalaya opened the 11th edition of the Jaffna International Cinema Festival in Sri Lanka, placing the state’s cinema at the forefront of an international cultural event.
Directed by Pradip Kurbah, Ha Lyngkha Bneng–The Elysian Field was screened on December 30 at the Jaffna Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre as the festival’s opening film. The festival will conclude on January 4.
The film is set in 2047 and follows the lives of six remaining residents of a remote settlement. Using minimal dialogue and a narrative shaped by memory and loss, it examines survival and continuity within small communities, drawing from the social and cultural realities of hill societies.
The Jaffna International Cinema Festival operates as a non-partisan platform dedicated to independent cinema, with a focus on contemporary storytelling, cross-cultural exchange and encouraging emerging filmmakers through debut and short film screenings.
The Jaffna opening adds to the film’s international recognition. It earlier won three major awards at the Kolkata International Film Festival, including Best Film and Best Director, and later received the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film at the Moscow International Film Festival in 2025.
Kurbah later expressed gratitude to the festival for featuring a Khasi-language film on its opening night. He also acknowledged the welcome extended to cinephiles in Jaffna and the reference made to the long-standing collaboration between India and the festival.
More than 200 entries from India were submitted this year, the highest from any country among films received from 17 nations. The festival programme also included a tribute to filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak.
