4th Edition of Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival Starts at ITA Machkhowa

The much anticipated 4th edition of the Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival (BVFF) was inaugurated on Friday in a grand manner at ITA Machkhowa, Guwahati. K V Eapen, Additional Chief Secretary, Planning and Development, was the Guest of Honour for the programme this year. Renowned filmmaker Prakash Jha and sound designer Amrit Pritam were also present as Special Guests. Tanushree Hazarika, Managing Director of Eclectic Group and Festival Director of BVFF said, ‘What germinated as an idea among couple of friends turned out to be a full-fledged initiative. This is part of our effort to bridge the gap between mainland India and Northeast.’ Commenting on the occasion, filmmaker Prakash Jha said, ‘There is something about Brahmaputra which draws me personally. This festival is a window which gives us a peek into the rich heritage and culture of Northeast. Hindi cinema is just commercial cinema. Don’t give too much value to it. Filmmakers like us from Mumbai will feel privileged to work with people from Northeast.’ Sound designer Amrit Pritam who hails from Assam spoke about his struggle in Mumbai and how he didn’t get any work in his first year in Mumbai. Guest of Honour K V Eapen said that stress should be given upon regional films s they cross over more easily. The Brahmaputra Valley Short Film Competition is one of the highlights of the festival and the top 15 entries from this year’s competition were screened for the audience. These films which have been made by budding filmmakers from all across the northeast received overwhelming response. The result of this competition will be announced on Sunday. Zualaa Chhangte directed Mizo film ‘Kima’s Lode Beyond the Class’ which won the award for best Mizo film at the 63rd National Film Awards was the first feature film to be screenedon Friday. This movie explores the journey of a young boy in Mizoram. Prakash Jha later interacted with aspiring filmmakers from the region in a workshop on pre-production. Assamese director Tarunabh Dutta’s 30 min long movie ‘Out of the Blue’ was also screened in the evening which was followed by an audience interaction with Prakash Jha. The event was moderated by Karma Paljor, Business Editor of CNN IBN. The day ended with the screening of another National Award Winning movie ‘Eibusu Yaohanbiyu’ which won the award for the best Manipuri film.