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Sri Lankan ‘Akasa Kusum,’ Inaugural film at Guwahati IFF 2010

By Daya Nath Singh |

Cine Arts Society, Asom is organizing second Cine ASA Guwahati International Film Festival from January18 to 24 at Rabindra Bhawan, Gauhati University, IIT Guwahati and Jonakee, Panjabari. This year’s programme is being inaugurated by Assam Governor, Janaki Ballav Pattanayak at Rabindra Bhawan on 18th January. Eminent Sri Lankan film maker, Prasanna Vithanage would be the Chief Guest at the function and his film Akasa Kusum would be the inaugural film. His other films will be screened in the Jewel of Asia section of the programme.


The festival programme includes a retrospective of Pedro Almodovar, a tribute section on the works of acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Kim Ki Duk, a Focus section to showcase the best of the Iranian films by directors like Mahsin Makhmalbaf, Mazid Mazidi, Abbas Kiarostemi, Bahman Ghobadi. On occasion of fifty years of French New Wave, films of Jean Luc Godard, François Trauffaut and Claude Chabrol and in the Romanian New Wave section films like ‘Four Months, Three Weeks, Two Days’ by Christian Munglo will also be screened. Apart from these sections, a package of highly acclaimed Asian and European films, which bagged awards at Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Lucama, Pusan, Karlovy Vary and London International film festivals, will be screened in the festival as well. In the Colors of India section National award winning films like Girish Kasarvalli’s Golabi Talkies and Shivajee Chandrabhushan’s Frozen, Bapaditya Banerjee’s latest film Houseful and Mazhar Kamran’s Mohandas will be screened.


On 22nd January director Kamran will also grace the festival to present his film Mohandas. In the Assamese film category Manju Bora’s Aai Kot Nai and Pradyut Kumar Deka’s Dhunia Tirotabur will be screened. It must be noted that on 19th January Cine Art Society, Asom, the organizer of the festival will honor all the National and International award winning artists of Cinema of Assam in a function which will be followed by screening of Aai Kot Nai. The festival will come to an end with the screening of the Other Bank directed by George Ovashvili- which bagged the Silver Mayur award at recently concluded International film festival of India held at Panaji.


Like last year, this year also a short film competition has been organized and the short listed films will be screened in the North East Shorts section. Three awards will be given to the best film, best director and Jury’s special mention and awards will be presented by eminent film maker Jahnu Barua in the concluding function to he held on 24th January evening. Apart from simultaneous screenings at all four venues interactive sessions among viewers besides three open forum sessions will be held at Rabindra Bhawan premise on 19,21,and 23rd January respectively.


Schedule of the open forum: Time: Daily at 1 PM at Rabindra Bhawan


19th January, Tuesday


Sub: Asian Cinema and its salient features


Speaker Prasanna Vithnage, Manju Bora, Apurba Sarma and Altaf Mazid


21st January, Thursday


Sub: Future road map for cinema of North East India


Gautam Bora, Munin Barua, Sanjib Sabhapandit and Haobam Pawan Kumar


23rd January Saturday:


Sub: New avenues in financing short and feature film projects


Mazhar Kamran, Bobeeta Sarmah, Mauli Senapati and Mriganka Madhukoilya

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