• Assam: 8th Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival begins, future of Assamese film discussed

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    Assam: 8th Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival begins, future of Assamese film discussed
    Speaking from personal experience, Monjul Baruah also discussed the unfavourable opinion that some Assamese people hold about their own movies.


    Digital Desk: The 8th Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival (BVFF), which took place in Guwahati, explored the possibilities for Assamese film to succeed commercially and transcend boundaries within the area.

    Along with National award-winning filmmakers Utpal Borpujari and Monjul Baruah, well-known actor-director and producer Jatin Bora, actress Barsha Rani Bishaya, and producer Shyam Bora, cultural activist and actor Nandini Sharma also attended the event.

    In an insightful panel discussion, Utpal Borpujari recounted the development of Assamese cinema, talked about landmark films like "Dr. Bezbaruah," and emphasised the significance of the Baruah brothers and their contributions to Assamese cinema.
    He also noted that Assam lacks movie theatres, but mobile theatres have been able to get over this obstacle in remote regions.

    The lack of pre-release revenue streams, like as music rights, satellite rights, and internet rights, limits the Assamese film industry to theatres, as actor-producer-director Jatin Bora (pictured) explained. "As gamblers, we are not manufacturers. To be an Assamese producer is to take a risk with every movie, he stated.

    The restricted resources and facilities for developing Assamese movies were explored by Barsha Rani Bishaya. Additionally, she drew attention to Assam's dearth of official backing and film-related policies.

    Speaking from personal experience, Monjul Baruah also discussed the unfavourable opinion that some Assamese people hold about their own movies.
     
    However, Shyam Bora advocated for a Western-style approach, treating content with a global sensibility and seeing the world as a market. He utilised the box office success of "Kothanodi" as an illustration of this strategy, stressing the movie's global message yet folklore-inspired plot.

    Using Kerala, which has a sizable number of theatres, as an example, they further explored ideas for the future of Assamese film, emphasising the necessity for more cinemas.

    Not just for filmmakers and industry professionals but also for the whole region, the Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival offered a forum for provocative conversation.