Skip to content Skip to navigation

Golden, Silver Rhino Awards to be presented in Guwahati International Short Film Festival

By AT News |


Some very exciting creations by short film makers from across the world will be showcased in the 1st Guwahati International Short Film Festival (GISFF) to be held on May 2nd and 3rd, 2011 at Assam State Museum Auditorium, Guwahati.


Altogether 200 films from countries like Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands, USA and Australia as well as all over India will be screened during the festival under sections like World Kaleidoscope, Indian Kaleidoscope and the competitive section, North-East Shorts.


The World Kaleidoscope section will see screening of award winning short films from Cannes International Festival. Apart from that 7 award winning short films from Spain will also be screened in the World Kaleidoscope section, out of which PORQUE HAY COSAS QUE NUNCA SE OLVIDAN (Because There Are Things We Never forget) by award winning director Lucas Figueroa will open the festival.


A major highlight of the festival will be a special screening of the highly-acclaimed Malayalam "anthology film" titled "Kerala Cafe", directed by a team of ten directors - Lal Jose, Shaji Kailas, Anwar Rasheed, Shyamaprasad, B. Unnikrishnan, Revathy, Anjali Menon, M. Padmakumar, Shankar Ramakrishnan, and Uday Ananthan. For the first time in the history of Malayalam cinema, this film was conceived by a team of 10 directors. 10 cinematographers, musicians, editors, art directors and almost all the top Malayalam film actors. The cast includes Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Dileep, Jayasurya, Prithviraj, Sreenivasan, Siddique, Sreenath, Rahman, Thilakan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Salim Kumar, Anoop Menon, Navya Nair, Shwetha Menon, Jyothirmayi, Rima Kallingal, Nithya Menon and Dhanya Mary Varghese.



The festival is an initiative by Creovaent Productions in association with Shamiana, the acclaimed short film club from Mumbai.


The jury that will judge the films in competition will be headed by eminent filmmaker Shyamaprasad from Kerala (director of award-winning Malayalam box office hits like Agnisakshi, Ore Kadal and Elektra). The special screening of critically acclaimed film ‘Kerala Café’ by Shyamaprasad will also be screened during the two day festival.


The other jury members will be Assamese actor Adil Hussain (who is acting in Ang Lee’s ‘Life of Pi’, Sridhar Raghavan’s ‘Agent Vinod’ and several other important films in various languages, after having received acclaim in films like 'Gangor' by Italian director Italo Spinelli, 'For Real' by Sona Jain and 'Ishqiya' by Abhishek Choubey), this year’s Aravindan Puraskaram winning director Nila Madhab Panda (whose feature debut ‘I Am Kalam’ has won 11 international awards till now) and internationally-acclaimed Manipuri filmmaker Haobam Paban Kumar (whose documentaries ‘AFSPA’ and ‘Mr India’ have earned global acclaim).


The competition films were selected from a large number of entries received from all over North-East India by a preview jury comprising noted theatre and film personality Nayan Prasad, eminent film editor Kaju, film critic Chandan Sharma and acclaimed director Bidyut Chakravarty.


The films in competition are:


Savages (Tarunabh Dutta), Serendipity (Suraj Duwarah), Dwita (Dipankar Das), Windows 4:3 (Angshuman Barkakoty), I Am a Poet (Shashanka Das & Deep Choudhury), Lemon Brothers Fall (Utpal Choudhury), The Silent Darkness (Jhulan Krishna Mahanta), IF (Khanjan Kishore Nath), Being Jobless (Shrutismita Changkakoti), 19/87 (Wanphrang K Diengdoh & Dondor E Lyngdoh), Bond (Anubhav Mahanta) and The 4th Law of Motion (Deepkamal Gogoi)


The festival will have a special tribute to young filmmaker Anghsuman Borkotoky by screening his film “Doctor, Nurse & Patient”, while another film by him Windows 4:3 will be in competition.


The prizes that will be given away in the competition section are for the Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Cinematography. The winners will be awarded with Golden and Silver Rhino along with certificates.


"The GISFF is an important initiative to create a platform to discuss, disseminate and in future market short fiction films, a genre that is finding more and more popularity all over the world in recent times. Young Assamese film entrepreneur Prithish Chakraborty of Creovaent Productions has developed the concept of the festival and I am sure in the coming years it will emerge as an important and exciting event in the film festival calendar of India," GISFF director and National Award-winning film critic Utpal Borpujari said.


  • 12571 reads

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

Five Years, 36,800 Crashes: Assam’s Roads Tell a Grim Story

A new report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has laid bare a disturbing picture of road safety in Assam. In the past five years alone, the state witnessed over 36,800 accidents and the loss of more than 15,000 lives—a toll higher than in any other North-eastern state. The year-wise data shows little sign of relief. In 2019, Assam recorded 8,350 mishaps with 3,208 deaths. Though the pandemic year 2020 saw fewer vehicles on the road, it still registered 6,595 crashes and 2,629 fatalities. The following years saw the numbers climb back, and by 2023, the state reached 7,421 accidents and 3,296 deaths, marking a 10% jump in fatalities compared to 2022. Officials say...

Naga Agitation Intensifies on Assam-Nagaland Border, Farmers' Land and Livelihoods Under Threat

Sarupathar, August 31: The agitation by Naga groups along the Assam-Nagaland border has seen a sharp increase, severely disrupting the lives of local Assamese residents. The escalating unrest has been marked by repeated claims over Assam’s land by Naga factions, including demands for shares of farmers' crops and intimidation of villagers in border areas such as Uriamghat's Raja Pukhuri No. 1 village. The Naga groups assert that the land belonged to their forefathers and call for recognition of their rights, demanding contracts and taxes from Assamese farmers cultivating the disputed land. Following eviction drives by the Assam government to reclaim encroached lands, Naga activists have...

Violent Protest at Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati as BJP Workers Target Congress Office

A fierce political confrontation unfolded at Rajiv Bhawan, the Congress headquarters in Guwahati, as a large group of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, workers, and supporters staged a provocative protest, allegedly targeting Congress leaders and their banners with violence. The incident marks a significant escalation in political tensions between Assam’s main rival parties ahead of the 2026 elections. BJP agitators broke barricades set up by police and tore down Congress banners and posters displayed outside Rajiv Bhawan. The banners included images of key Congress figures such as state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, opposition leader Debabrata Saikia, and Assam Pradesh Mahila...

Gauhati Medical College in Fresh Controversy Over Alleged Baby Swap Case

Guwahati: The Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) has once again landed in controversy, this time over allegations of a newborn baby being swapped. The family of Priyanka Sharma, a woman from Dhupdhara in Goalpara district, has accused hospital staff of replacing their healthy baby with another infant. According to the family, Priyanka was advised a cesarean delivery but ultimately gave birth through normal delivery. After the birth, the family claimed they saw the baby, who appeared healthy. However, soon after, neither the mother nor other relatives were allowed to see the newborn. When the family inquired, doctors assured them that the child was in good health. Shock came...

1875, Not 1933: Mizoram Reasserts Border Claim

Mizoram has reaffirmed its stand on the 1875 notification as the only legitimate boundary with Assam, rejecting the 1933 Survey of India map cited by Assam. Home Minister K. Sapdanga told the Assembly that the colonial-era demarcation, drawn after consultation with local chiefs, remains binding. Talks between the two states have stretched across decades, with the last round held in Guwahati in April. The next meeting is to take place in Aizawl, though no date has been fixed. Mizoram has set up a study team to compile archival records to back its claim. On the ground, tensions persist. In mid-August, Mizoram villagers accused Assam officials of damaging nearly 300 rubber plants in...

Assam, Arunachal Officials Meet to Strengthen Border Management

In a bid to ease tensions along the Assam–Arunachal boundary, senior officials from both states held a joint meeting at Narayanpur in Assam’s Lakhimpur district on Thursday, adopting a series of measures to improve coordination and maintain peace. The meeting was attended by officials from Assam’s Lakhimpur and Biswanath districts and Arunachal’s Papum Pare district. Both sides agreed to stop all new construction and encroachment until the final demarcation of the interstate boundary is completed. To ensure smoother communication, the states will appoint nodal officers as official points of contact, while a dedicated WhatsApp group will be created to allow quick information-sharing among...

Assam Among Bottom Five States in Health, Education and Economy

Assam has been ranked among the bottom five states of the country in crucial development indicators including health, education and economic growth, according to a fresh NITI Aayog assessment. The report placed Assam 26th in health and well-being, 25th in education, and 23rd in economic development. On gender equality and zero hunger, the state was positioned at 25th and 22nd respectively. The poor performance has raised concern over the state’s planning and budgetary priorities, despite official claims of inclusive growth. Experts have pointed out that school enrolment, institutional health services and poverty reduction continue to remain below the national average. NITI Aayog’s...

Rotary Club of Guwahati and NERAMAC Distribute Saplings, Launch Tree Plantation Drive

Guwahati, August 23: The Rotary Club of Guwahati, in collaboration with the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd. (NERAMAC), organized a major plantation and sapling distribution initiative this week. On Tuesday, August 21, a total of 3,000 medicinal and fruit-bearing saplings were distributed among local villagers of Bijoynagar and adjoining areas at the premises of 28 Nahira Primary School and Kongdang Primary School. The program witnessed enthusiastic participation from villagers, teachers, Rotarians, and NERAMAC officials. Continuing the green initiative, a tree plantation drive was also conducted on Friday, August 22, at the NERAMAC office premises...

PEC Condemns Misuse of PRESS Emblem and Ongoing Journalist Killings

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), a global media safety and rights organization, has strongly condemned the misuse of the “PRESS” symbol by armed combatants in conflict zones such as Syria and Gaza. The PEC expressed deep concern over incidents where individuals posing as journalists have used the emblem as a shield for violent activities. In southern Syria, Islamist fighters were seen wearing jackets marked “PRESS” while vandalizing a Druze household in Suwayda, as shown in a widely circulated video on social media. While PEC cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video, it emphasizes that under no circumstances should the press emblem be used as cover for armed combatants...

Dramatic rise in the number of journalists killed in six months

The number of journalists killed worldwide has surged dramatically in the first half of 2025, according to the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC). Since January, 86 media workers have been killed across 26 countries, marking a 16% increase compared to the same period last year. Gaza: Epicenter of the Crisis The ongoing conflict in Gaza is the primary driver behind this spike. At least 31 Palestinian journalists were killed in six months by the Israeli army, accounting for more than a third of the global toll. “The Israeli government is directly responsible for this tragedy, which targets civilians reporting on the situation in Gaza. The Israeli soldiers involved in these war crimes must...