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Seven award-winning cinematic essays from Assam will be screened in
New Delhi as part of a special film festival jointly organized by the
Assam State Film (Finance and Development) Corporation (ASFFDC) and the
Directorate of Film Festivals, Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
The Assamese Film Festival, designed around the theme of the "role of
cinema in social awakening', will kick off on the evening of January 6
in New Delhi's Siri Fort complex with the screening of the
Hindi-language Kaalsandhya, the last film of the late
writer-editor-filmmaker Bhabendranath Saikia's illustrious career
The inaugural ceremony will be attended by noted Assamese filmmaker
Jahnu Barua, acclaimed writer Indira Goswami and celebrated screen and
stage actress Seema Biswas.
The other six features that will be on show during the three-day
festival range from Jahnu Barua's 1992 award-winning film,
Firingoti (The Spark), to the recently completed Laaz,
directed by Manju Bora. The package also includes a Bodo-language film,
Jwngdao Bodosa's Hagramayao Jinahari (Rape in the Virgin
Forest).
Also in the line-up are three other critically applauded Assamese
films – Santwana Bordoloi's Adajya (The Flight), Sanjib
Sabhapandit's Juye Poora Xoon (The Self Triumphs) and Sanjeev
Hazorika's Matsyagandha (The Outrage).
"A festival of this sort should have started many years ago, when
interest in Assamese cinema was at its peak at the national level," says
Jahnu Barua. "But better late than never."
The prime mover of the Assamese Film Festival is the ASFFDC, which
has drawn up elaborate plans to step up its activities to promote cinema
from the state. Says Bobbeeta Sharma, Chairperson, ASFFDC: "We intend to
make this film festival an annual event."
Barua feels that the festival is a step in the right direction. "Our
output is low because of the limited size of the market for Assamese
films," he says. "All the more reason for us to make concerted efforts
to widen the audience base and spread awareness about the quality of
Assamese cinema."
How important this festival is for Assamese cinema as a whole can be
gauged from the number of personalities who are flying in from Guwahati
to grace the occasion. Among those who will be seen during the
screenings are award-winning actress Moloya Goswami, widely lauded
filmmaker Santwana Bordoloi and popular actor Jatin Bora.
ASFFDC has, on its part, rolled out other equally crucial plans to
give Assamese cinema a renewed boost. In April last year, it revived the
Assam State Film Awards after a hiatus of six years. The then Union
minister for youth affairs, Sunil Dutt, inaugurated the proceedings in
the presence of actor Victor Banerjee.
A month later, ASFFDC organized the first Guwahati International Film
Festival, with well-known actor-director Amol Palekar putting in an
appearance as the chief guest.
The Assamese Film Festival is an extension of a long overdue bid to
put Assamese cinema back on the national map. | 