By Nava Thakuria*
Guwahati: To foster nationalism through films and pay homage to India’s ancient civilization, culture and heritage, the 8th Chalachitram National Film Festival – 2024 will kickstart here on Saturday, October 26, 2024.
The two-day film festival at Jyoti Chitraban premises in the Kahilipara locality of the prehistoric city will showcase 50 documentary and short feature films in competitive and non-competitive categories. The unique annual festival, initially planned for September 14 and 15, 2024, was postponed to 26 and 27 October 2024 due to unavoidable circumstances.
Open to film buffs (with a minimal delegate charge), the festival will screen films between 10 am and 6 pm on both days. A jury board comprising artists, critics, filmmakers, writers and other professionals will select the winning films. The awardees will be honoured with cash prizes, trophies and certificates during the closing function in the presence of distinguished film personalities and moviegoers.
Organized by Chalachitram, a subsidiary of Vishwa Samvad Kendra Assam, the film festival centres on the theme ‘Our Heritage, Our Pride’ and encompasses other issues like Land and People, Tourism, Arts, Handicrafts and Textiles, Manuscript and Manuscript Paintings, Painting and Woodcarving, Music and Musicians, Cultural Festivals, Monuments and Heritage sites, Social Reformers and Pioneers, Sports, Tea and Oil Industries, Culture and Values, Social Awareness, Family System, Women, and Environment.
The Last Generation will be the Festival’s inaugural film. It is directed by Prabal Khaund and produced by Gopal Jalan and Dhrubojyoti Kakati.
On behalf of the organizing committee, Kishor Shivam expressed hope that the exercise will encourage budding filmmakers to endorse more productions as a powerful tool for social changes across the subcontinent, and not merely a money-making endeavour.
Several interesting films have been selected for the competition category (Northeast), where Birubala-the Crusader (by Dhiraj Kashyap), Prayojan (by Krishna Das), The Butcher (by Tashi Wangshu MJ), Wrong Number (by Bijit Borgohain), Journey with A Dance Form (by Pranjal Pratim Chetia), Aadi Shakti Maa Kamakhya (by Pradip Ch Sarma), Heaven on the Earth (by Prasanta Kalita), A Sylvan Saga (by Jyoti Prasad Das), Rising Sunbirds (by Sudeshna Gupta), The Caretaker (by Biswajit Das), Missing Cuisine (by Pranjal Pratim Chetia) and Teens of 1942 (by Samiran Deka) will be screened. On the other hand, the non-competition category of the section comprises films like Being Bald (by Krishna Das), Garishali (by Ashomi Sarma), Bichitra (by Tuhin Kanya Bora), Destination (by Dipak Kumar Roy) and Ekaki (by Rupam Jyoti Malakar).
The national competition category includes My National Flag (by Sweta Kumar Dash), Shashwatam (by Monaksh N Kanirkar), Jaswandha (by Shoneel Yallattikar), Nimbu Mirchi (by Atul Subhashrao Camble), Tiny World (by Shashidhar Kote), A Letter to My Home (by Devajani Halder), Sundarban (by Arindam Konar and Shyam Sundar Paul), Bhookh (by Saaikat Bagbaan), Yes Sir (by Mohit Singhal), Multi (by Mrunal Mestri), The Waiting (by Lalit Kumar Jha and Sumit Kohli), Minus (by Aritra Das), Uma (by Abanti Sinha), The Village of Masks (by Ritabrita Mitra), Promise (by Ravikant Narayan), Rainbow Classroom (by Madhurjya Alankaar), Bin Boy (by Bauddhayan Nukherji) and The Last Talk (by Ashish Thakur).
The non-competition category (national) comprises films like Gods of Clay – Matir Thakur (by Amit Bhattacharjee), Reserve Women Right (by Bijoy Kumar Dogra), Rah Me Unse (by Harsh Panchalwar), Sagavaram (by Dinesh Balasri), Dennis and His Kamballa Bufallow (by Praveenk Shetty & Nitesh Anchan), Little Explorer (by Sapru VV), Air Pollution (by Umesh Y Gaurav), Black Hole (by Pradyumna), I am not Down (by Jyoti Madnani), Khera- The Lakshmi of Chilika (by Sudeshna Gupta), Wimdermere Ki Ramleela (by Siddharth Rawal), Status (by Madhan R Karthick), Proof of the Soul (by Gulshan Singh) and Manvi (by Indrani Ghosh) for screening.
*Senior journalist
