New-gen northeast filmmakers to get platform in Delhi

A new-generation of filmmakers from the northeast will get a chance to showcase their movies at a festival here later this week.

Organised by India International Centre and North East Media Forum, the festival will be held on Friday and Saturday.

"The festival's theme is 'The Fresh Lense: New Cinematic Voices from Northeast India'. We will be screening films by new-generation filmmakers from the region. There will be documentaries, shorts and feature films. These are all award winning films," the fest's curator Utpal Borpujari, a filmmaker and film critic, told IANS.

"In Delhi, there are many northeast events still, there is a lack of information about our people. It is always good to expose others to our culture. Cinema is a good way to do that. These movies show how diverse and creative we are."

The festival will begin with director Amar Kaushik's "Aaba" ("Grandfather"), set in Arunachal Pradesh.

"Amar Kaushik is not from northeast India, but he grew up there. It's nice to see him going back there and reliving his childhood memories. It's a beautifully made film," Borpujari said.

This will be followed by Haobam Paban Kumar's "Loktak Lairembee" (Lady of the Lake; Manipur).

On Saturday, "Alifa" (Assam) by director Deep Choudhury, "The Pangti Story" (Nagaland) by director Sesino Yhoshu, "Beautiful Lives" (Assam) by director Kangkan Deka, Altaf Mazid's "Sabin Alun" (The Broken Song; Assam) and "Antardrishti" (Man with the Binoculars; Assam) by director Rima Das will be showcased during the fest.

--IANS

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