Skip to content Skip to navigation

8th Chalachitram National Film Festival Concludes, Celebrates Cultural Heritage and Social Awareness

By AT News |

Guwahati: The 8th Chalachitram National Film Festival – 2024 concluded at Jyoti Chitraban in Kahilipara, Guwahati, on October 27, celebrating diverse cinematic works. Jaswandha, directed by Shoneel Yallattikar, won the Best Film in the rest of India category, while A Sylvan Saga by Jyoti Prasad Das was awarded the Best Film in Northeast India. Das also took home the Best Director award, and Abhijit Nayak received the Best Screenplay award for Wrong Number, directed by Bijit Borgohain.

Awards for Best Cinematography went to Angsuman Barua & Pradip Ch Sarma for Aadi Shakti Maa Kamakhya and Chida Bora & Saril Nandan Deka for Teens of 1942 (directed by Samiran Deka). The Best Editing award was presented to Bhaskar Jyoti Bhuyan for Birubala - The Crusader by Dhiraj Kashyap, with a special mention from the jury for A Letter To My Home by Devajani Halder.

Organized by Chalachitram, an initiative of Vishwa Samvad Kendra Assam, the festival showcased 50 documentary and short films in both competitive and non-competitive categories. Themed “Our Heritage, Our Pride,” the event aimed to promote nationalism and celebrate India’s cultural legacy. Topics ranged from heritage and tourism to social reform, arts, and the environment.

The closing ceremony honored winners with cash prizes, trophies, and certificates, attended by notable cine-personalities including Assam’s evergreen actress Mridula Barua, filmmakers Atul Gangowar, Santosh Pathare, and others.

The inaugural screening featured The Last Generation by Prabal Khaund. Competing films included Prayojan (Krishna Das), The Butcher (Tashi Wangshu MJ), and Journey with A Dance Form (Pranjal Pratim Chetia). Non-competition screenings highlighted northeast films such as Being Bald (Krishna Das) and Destination (Dipak Kumar Roy). Films from outside the region included My National Flag (Sweta Kumar Dash) and The Village of Masks (Ritabrita Mitra), among others.

The festival, inaugurated by Cotton University VC Ramesh Ch Deka, featured performances and discussions, drawing young film enthusiasts to Jyoti Chitraban, a campus dedicated to Assam’s pioneer filmmaker Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Agarwala.

The organizing team, represented by Kishor Shivam and others, hopes to inspire emerging filmmakers to use cinema as a medium for social empowerment, highlighting the rich heritage of Bharat beyond mere entertainment.

Author info

AT News's picture

Assam Times Staff. editor@assamtimes.org
  • 16718 reads

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

WWF-India Honours Top ‘Mission Prakriti’ Schools in Assam

WWF-India, in collaboration with Samagra Shiksha Assam, felicitated five top-performing schools under the ‘Mission Prakriti’ programme for 2025–26 at a ceremony in Guwahati. The initiative promotes environmental awareness among students through themes like biodiversity, water, waste, food, and energy. In Assam, the programme covers over 4,700 schools across all districts. The award-winning schools include Natun Fatasil Town HS (Kamrup Metro), Sakai Khangia High School (Jorhat), Bishnu Jyoti MES (Sonitpur), PM Shri Jamira HS School (Hailakandi), and PM Shri Gossaigaon Girls HS School (Kokrajhar). Tinsukia district was also recognised as the best-performing district. Officials...

Assam’s Tirtha Prasad Saikia Appointed APRCEM Focal Point for Conflict and Disaster-Affected Communities

Jorhat: Tirtha Prasad Saikia, Director of the North-East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS), an indigenous civil society organisation based in Jorhat, Assam, has been appointed as the Constituency Focal Point for the People Affected by Conflict and Disaster Constituency of the Asia Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM). APRCEM is a regional civil society platform that brings together organisations across Asia and the Pacific to engage with intergovernmental processes on sustainable development, particularly the implementation and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through this organisational role,...

GHADC Polls Postponed After Violence in West Garo Hills

SHILLONG, Mar 11: The Meghalaya government has postponed the elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) that were scheduled to be held on April 10, 2026, following violent clashes in West Garo Hills that left two people dead. Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma announced the decision on Wednesday, saying the state government reviewed the prevailing law-and-order situation in the Garo Hills region before deciding to defer the polls. The unrest erupted during the nomination process in Chibinang in West Garo Hills, where clashes broke out between groups supporting and opposing the participation of non-tribal candidates in the GHADC elections. Two persons were killed...

Meghalaya High Court Quashes ST Certificate Rule for GHADC Polls

The Meghalaya High Court has set aside a controversial notification that made possession of a Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate mandatory for candidates contesting the upcoming elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC). Delivering the judgment on March 10, Justice H. S. Thangkhiew ruled that the February 17, 2026 notification issued by the GHADC Executive Committee lacked legal authority and did not follow the procedure required under the Assam and Meghalaya Autonomous Districts (Constitution of District Councils) Rules, 1951. The court observed that the notification effectively barred non-tribal voters and candidates from participating in the council elections...

Violence Erupts in Garo Hills, Meghalaya, Amid Election Tensions

TURA, Meghalaya – March 11, 2026: Tensions surrounding the upcoming elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), scheduled for April 10, have triggered violent clashes in the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, leaving two people dead and several others injured. The unrest has also resulted in widespread vandalism and arson in several areas of the district. The tensions stem from a controversial notification requiring candidates contesting the council elections to possess valid Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate documentation. The rule has effectively prevented many non-tribal residents—particularly Bengali-speaking Muslims living in the plains belt areas such as...

International Women’s Day Observed by NEADS in Jorhat

North East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS), a grassroots development organisation based in Jorhat working with people’s struggles and community development initiatives, observed International Women’s Day at Chumoni Chapori village under the Jhanjimukh area in Jorhat district on Sunday, bringing together local women, community leaders and youth to celebrate the achievements and contributions of women in society. The programme was organized with the participation of women from riverine communities who shared their experiences, challenges and aspirations for greater social and economic empowerment. The event focused on raising awareness about women’s rights, gender equality and...

Assamese Poet Jiban Narah’s The Yellow Metaphor Published by Penguin

A significant milestone for literature from Northeast India has been marked with the publication of The Yellow Metaphor, a collection of poems by Assamese poet Jiban Narah, now released by Penguin Random House India. The book is a translated anthology of Narah’s poetry and is considered a rare achievement for the region. It is reportedly the first translated poetry collection by a single poet from Northeast India to be published by Penguin, and among only a handful of works in a regional Indian language to receive such recognition from the global publishing house. The Yellow Metaphor brings together 99 selected poems written over a span of 33 years, reflecting Narah’s long poetic...

Meeting Urges Tai-Ahoms to Record Taoism and Tai-Ahom as Mother Tongue in Census

Sivasagar, March 6: A meeting of organisations associated with the religious and intellectual affairs of the Tai-Ahom community was held on Thursday (March 5) at the public auditorium of Bakata Parijat Panchayat in Sivasagar district. The meeting was chaired by Jibeshwar Mohan Deva, founding principal of Tingkhang College. Several prominent personalities attended the meeting, including Manaranjan Baruah, president of the Mohan-Deodhai-Bailung Sanmilan; Vidya Phukan, president of the Mohan-Deodhai-Bailung Pandit Parishad; former president of Phra-Lung-Moung Assam Golap Gohain; secretary Pranjal Mohan; noted Tai cultural researcher Kamal Jyoti Mohan; Tai-Ahom scholar Nripen Mohan;...

Assam’s Move for OIL Stake Sparks Debate

Guwahati, Feb 28: The Assam government’s decision to seek a 5 per cent stake in Oil India Limited (OIL) has triggered discussion on the State’s long-term approach to the oil and gas sector in the Northeast. The proposal, under which Assam has sought a minority share in OIL — where the Government of India holds 56 per cent — will be examined by the Centre, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that the State is extending full cooperation to oil sector companies and urged that shares be allocated to Assam to support smoother functioning and stronger coordination. Reacting to the development, Shantikam Hazarika — former Chairman of...

Citizen Flags Data, Nutrition Gaps in HPV Vaccination Drive

New Delhi, March 1: Concerns have been raised over the national HPV vaccination campaign launched on February 28, 2026, with a citizen questioning its scientific basis, operational preparedness, and public health prioritisation. In a public statement, Donthi N. Reddy said that not a single state has published baseline data on cervical cancer incidence or HPV prevalence prior to the rollout. Without such baseline indicators, he argued, outcomes cannot be measured, and without measurable outcomes, the reported annual expenditure of ₹1,300 crore cannot be properly evaluated. The campaign involves administration of the HPV vaccine Gardasil-4 to 14-year-old girls across the country, aiming...