Assam: 8th edition of Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival kicks off, discusses prospects of Assamese cinema

The 8^th Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival (BVFF) that was held in Guwahati explored the potential of Assamese cinema to break through regional barriers and achieve commercial success.

The festival was attended by cultural activist and actor Nandini Sharma along with National award-winning filmmakers Utpal Borpujari and Monjul Baruah, popular actor-director and producer Jatin Bora, actress Barsha Rani Bishaya and producer Shyam Bora.

During an insightful panel discussion, Utpal Borpujari traced the evolution of Assamese cinema and discussed the milestone movies like “Dr. Bezbaruah” and highlighted the role of Baruah brothers and their contributions for cinema in Assam.

He further acknowledged the lack of cinema halls in Assam, and pointed out that mobile theatres have successfully navigated this hurdle in remote regions.

Actor-producer and director, Jatin Bora spoke on the lack of pre-release revenue streams like music rights, satellite rights and digital rights which makes the business of Assamese cinema limited to cinema halls. “We are not producers but gamblers. Making every film is no less than a gamble for Assamese producers”, he said.

Barsha Rani Bishaya discussed the limited facilities and resources of producing Assamese cinema. She also pointed out the lack of a government support and a dedicated film policy in Assam.

Monjul Baruah, drawing from his own experiences, also spoke of the negative perception some Assamese people have towards their own cinema.

However, Shyam Bora advocated for a western-style model, viewing the world as a market and tackling content with global sensibilities. He cited the success of "Kothanodi" as an example of this approach, emphasizing the film's universal approach but folklore-inspired narrative.

They further discussed solutions for Assamese cinema’s future stressing on the need for more theatres, citing Kerala, which has a good number of cinema halls, as an example.

The Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival provided a platform for insightful dialogue, not just for filmmakers and industry professionals, but for the region as a whole.