Brahmaputra Film Festival Returns

The grand Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival came back to Guwahati after a long gap of a decade but it featured 30 movies, as well as panel discussions, masterclasses and a workshop on   introduction to filmmaking conducted in association with the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. The BVFF had also  collaborated with streaming giant Amazon Prime Video this year, with an aim to allow  filmmakers to present their pitches  directly  to the platform.

The festival’s founder and director Tanushree Hazarika, along with her team of organisers felicitated the chief guests — producers Leena Yadav, Ronnie Lahiri, Sanjay Bhutiani, actor Aimee Baruah, sound designer Amrit Pritam, music composer Dr Hitesh Baruah and businessman Ranjit Barthakur.

BVFF, which began its journey in 2013, is  returning  this year after a three- year break due to the pandemic. Speaking at the event, producer Ronnie Lahiri said that he has been a happy witness to the growth of Northeastern cinema for over 50 years. “This year, I am really glad Tanushree and co. have added feature films as well. I’ve been looking forward to watching a lot of these titles but, unfortunately, most of them don’t get a release in Mumbai.”

Producer Sanjay Bhutiani was hopeful that efforts like these will take cinema from Northeast to newer heights. “The days are not far when you’ll see a film from Northeast India premiere at the Cannes Film Festival,” he said.

The 8th edition of the festival  kick-started last month with a grand opening ceremony at the Jyoti Chitrabon

Film Studio in Guwahati.  Organised by Tattva  Creations and Brahmaputra Foundation, the festival aims to platform cinema from Northeast India and boost the filmmaking movement in the region. The opening ceremony also featured special performances from dancer Mridusmita Das Bora and music band Bottle Rocket. After the ceremony, the festival began with a special screening of the Hindi crime drama Kooki, directed  by  Pranab Deka. It ended on December 17 with the screening of Footprints on Water starring Adil Hussain and directed by Nathalia Syam.