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First Regional Short Film Festival in Shillong from Dec 2

By Abdul Gani |

The maiden edition of the Regional Short Film Festival of India, with the theme ‘The Natives of A Nation’, will be organized by the Meghalaya chapter of North East Film and Television Producers’ Directors’ Association (NEFTPDA) from December 2 to 4, 2010, at Shillong.


Short films and documentaries from all over the country will be screened during the festival which includes several IDPA award winning films. Green Oscar winning ‘The Wild Meat Trail’ of Rita Banerji and Shilpi Sharma which also won Best Environment Film in IDPA awards recently will one of the major attractions of the festival. The film portrays community and individual hunting practices in different parts of North-East India, tracking the complex transition of these utility and ritual-based hunting traditions into an increasingly commercial activity geared to generate cash.


NEFTPDA president Jahnu Barua said, “It’s a noble venture initiated by the Meghalaya chapter of NEFTPDA that would help to showcase the regional films from different parts of the country at the film festival.”


He further said, “The films of northeast and perhaps the regional films of the other regions in the country are facing enormous constraints and are yet to achieve the desired impetus due to lack of promotion and the invasion of popular culture and glamour in the entertainment industry. The festival will be helpful in this regard.” The festival comprises of a total of fifteen hours duration of selected films from the North Eastern Region and about ten hours total duration of selected regional films from the rest of India.


In the competition section for North East films there will be four categories of awards- the Best Film Award, the second Best Film Award, the Best Director Award and the Jury award for the Best Film. NEFTPDA is planning to institute the awards in the name of local eminent personalities with exceptional achievement and contribution in the society. The special committee was formed to identify the persons in whose name the award shall be honoured and conferred upon. The Festival director Raphael Warjri said that there would be several programmes like interaction session, seminar, workshop or lecture, discourse on film appreciation by guest speakers.


“Probable topics of seminar, workshop etc., are ‘The Problems and prospects of regional film’ ‘Impact and relevance of regional films in the national/global context’ ‘Role and responsibility of the government and the business community in promoting regional films’,” said Raphael.


Films from North East India Assam:


Turgot: Bhupendra Kaman; Haren's Butt: Pankaj Kalita; Ajan Faquir Saheb: Asif Iqbal Hussain Mizoram: Malsawmi & Pawl Kut: by Napoleon Thanga Nagaland: Walk with me: producer, director, research & script: Kivini Shohe Some of the other films: Melting Paradise, Sound from the Soul, Ek Ropa Dhan, Aarohan: A New Beginning, The Wild Meat Trail, A Small Thing Can Change the World

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