Skip to content Skip to navigation

Special session underway at IFFI to commemorate NE cinema

Purple Fusion performin at IFFI Goa

The much awaited first-edition of the North-east section got underway in the 44th International Film Festival of India in Kala Academy, Panjim today. The Northeast section is a first-of-its-kind programme incorporated in the prestigious IFFI ceremony to commemorate filmmakers and films from India’s Northeast region.

Popular Naga folk fusion band marked the opening of the Northeast section of the IFFI ceremony where popular actors Adil Hussain and Seema Biswas and Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma were the guest of honours respectively. The Northeast section, which has been curated by National Award-winning film critic Utpal Borpujari, will culminate on November 27. Eminent Assamese artist and filmmaker Pulak Gogoi is the overall art director of the festival.


Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma felicitating band members of Purple Fusion during the opening ceremony of NE section in IFFI 2013

“It is a matter of great privilege and honour for us to represent the numerous tribes and communities of Northeast India in this prestigious occasion. It’s really nice to represent our region in this special section designed to commemorate Northeast Indian cinema and our filmmakers, said Lamtsala Sangtam, vocalist of Purple Fusion.

Purple Fusion is a four-piece folk fusion band from Nagaland which blends the oral folk songs and traditions of the various Naga tribes and dialects with contemporary world musical genres like blues, jazz, rock, reggae, etc. Within a short span of time, the band has showcased the beauty of Naga folk music to a vast audience across the entire country.

Khawnlung Run, the first-ever Mizo film to be screened in any international film festival was the opening film in the festival. The film has been directed by Mapuia Chawngthu.

The Northeast package in IFFI is all set to be a cultural extravaganza as it brings about 22 films from the Northeast coupled with musical performances and Northeast Indian food stalls. There will be cultural performances of Northeastern folk dances every evening during Nov 22-27 apart from handicraft exhibitions and Northeastern food stall.


A gathering of the first NE section of IFFI in Panaji, Goa on Friday

Some of the films to be screened in the Northeast section “Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Aru Joymoti” (Directed by Dr Bhupen Hazarika), a documentary on the making of “Joymoti”, the first film in the North East made in 1935 by Jyotiprasad Agarwalla, “Matamgi Manipur”, Haobam Paban Kumar’s documentary “The First Leap”, “Sonam” (Directed by Ahsan Majid, Monpa language), “Ishanou”, “Kathaa” (Directed by Prashant Rasailly), “Ka Lad” (Directed by Dondor Lyngdoh & Gautam Syiem), “Songs of Mashangva” (Directed by Oinam Doren), “Going the Distance” (Directed by Tianla Jamir) from Nagaland, “Panoi Jongki” (Directed by Dilip Doley & Narayan Seal, language Mising) from Assam, “Yarwng” (Directed by Joseph Pulinthanath, language Kokborok) from Tripura, “Papori” (Directed by Jahnu Barua) from Assam, “Hagramayo Jinahari”  (Directed by Jwngdao Bodosa, language Bodo) from Assam, “Agnisnaan” (Directed by Dr Bhabendra Nath Saikia) from Assam, “Baibhav – A Scam in Verse” (Directed by Manju Borah) from Assam, and “Wosobipo” (Directed by Gautam Bora, language Karbi) from Assam.

A host of popular actors, documentary makers and personalities from the media and cultural world of the Northeast have already descended in Goa for the film festival. Some of the visiting delegates includes Padmashri award winning journalist Patricia Mukhim, Assamese film personalities Zerifa Wahid, Utpal Datta, Manju Borah, Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi from Arunachal Pradesh, Prashant Rasaily from Sikkim, Mapuia Chawnghtu from Mizoram, Tianla Jamir from Nagaland, amongst others. 

Author info

Aiyushman Dutta's picture

Journalist and Founder Secretary, Eastern Beats Music Society.

Add new comment

Assamese Translator

Assam Times seeks English to Assamese translators!
Join our volunteer team.
Email editor@assamtimes.org.

Random Stories

HC summons Bhumidhar Barman

24 Nov 2007 - 4:33pm | editor
The Gauhati High Court has asked senior Congress leader and minister Dr Bhumidhar Barman to appear before the court on December 11 charging him with violating the court order regarding the...

Paralyzing strike

30 Apr 2015 - 9:40am | AT News
Surface communication remains totally disrupted across the state on Thursday following the 12 hour chakka bandh in protest against the proposed road safety bill. Only the government run buses...

CRI's golden jubilee event from Nov 6

7 Nov 2013 - 8:41am | CM Paul
The Conference of Religious India (CRI) is holding 4-day celebrations of its golden jubilee from 6-9 November, 2013 at the Don Bosco Campus, Guwahati. The programme will start at Don Bosco Institute...

Intensified vigil against jehadi elements

11 Jul 2016 - 9:18pm | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
LR Bishnoi, ADGP, Assam claimed that top leaders of the NDFB(S) have been facing financial crisis in their maintaining camp and activities carried since few months. Bishnoi while speaking the...

Other Contents by Author

DIMAPUR: Films, music, ethnic food and ethnic game competitions marked Tribal Vaganza – a two-day festival of indigenous games, music and culture – which concluded late last night in Dimapur, spreading the need to promote our dying folk culture amongst the youth of the region for posterity. Organized by Abiogenesis Society, the festival Tribal Vaganza was held with the support of North Eastern Council, Shillong. The festival saw the release of the much anticipated film, ‘Enter My World’, which has been written and directed by Arenla Subong, the popular female vocalist of thrice Grammy nominated band Abiogenesis. Releasing the film, Nagaland Minister for Higher & Technical Education...
GUWAHATI: Internationally acclaimed fusion-jazz band ASIA7 from Thailand will be performing at the Shri Shri Madhavdeva International Auditorium in Sanardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati on the evening of March 7. The band will be performing in Guwahati after their stellar performances during the 8th edition of the Delhi International Jazz Festival at Nehru Park held earlier this year. The performance of the band in the city is being organized by the Guwahati Regional Office of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. Asia7 is a jazz fusion band from Thailand. Founded in 2016 by a group of alumni of the College of Music, Mahidol University,...
A rare and unheard case was recorded in Shillong where a woman in her 50s allegedly swallowed an entire toothbrush while brushing which was removed from her stomach without a surgery. The patient had come to see Dr. Issac Syiem, a Senior Surgeon in the Shillong Civil Hospital on January 25 and narrated the whole incident. Prior to this, she had visited other doctors in the hospital, who referred the case to Dr. Syiem. When she was evaluated by Dr. Syiem, he was surprised to know that the patient was in no discomfort and suffered no pain. The patient, a resident of Lower Mawprem, told him that she would have never approached any doctor if not for her daughter’s insistence. The X-ray...
The Digital Literacy Curriculum (DLC) Centre was recently inaugurated by Nur Hussain ACS, ADC (Education) , Golaghat at Letekujan. The DLC Centre is being set up by the Institute of Research & Documentation of Indigenous Studies (IRDIS) in partnership with Microsoft India under the Corporate social responsibility initiative of Numaligarh Refinery Ltd in the premises of the Lattakoojan TE, APPL, at Letekujan, Golaghat to impart basic digital knowledge and skills to the students in and around Letekujan. The Inaugural function was attended and addressed by Nur Hussain as the Chief Guest, PC Saloi IPS, DIG Central Range, Shiladitya Chetia IPS, SP Golaghat, Dr. Deepa Dutt, Executive...
There seems to be no stopping this young Assamese actress. Mumbai-based Assamese actress Urmila Mahanta who has been in the news for the past couple of years is back in the limelight. Making the entire State of Assam and Northeast India proud, Urmila has shown her mettle by being nominated for the South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) for her stellar performance in the Tamil crime thriller Vazhakku Enn: 18/9.Urmila has been nominated in two categories in the prestigious SIIMA awards – as Best Debutant Actress and Best Supporting Actress. The awards will be given in Dubai in the third week of September. Urmila is the first Assamese girl to be nominated for the SIIMA award, that too...
A Seminar and Talk  on “ Immigration and Conflict Resolution”  was held jointly by Assam Institute of Research for Tribals and Scheduled Castes(AIRTSC) and the Institute of Research and Documentation of Indigenous Studies ( IRDIS), at the Administrative Staff College, Khanapara on March 20. The talk, delivered by  Prof. C. Matthew Snipp, Burnet C. and Mildred Finley Wohlford Professor of Humanities and Sciences in the Department of Sociology, Stanford University,USA, dwelt on the conflicts of indigenous people  and immigrant communities  and the resolution of these conflicts, with particular focus on the experience of American Indians in the United States, as well...
Three days of fun, frolic and non-stop music marked the second edition of the Guwahati International Music Festival. One of the only such festivals in the eastern part of the country, more than 200 artists from as many as 6 countries took part in the mega event. The festival was organized by Eastern Beats Music Society with the support of Assam Tourism, NTPC and NEEPCO.From Jazz to Blues, Classical to Rock – Guwahatians were spoilt for choice as some of the biggest names in the music industry descended in the Northeast. For the visiting artistes too, it was an excellent opportunity to network with the virtuoso musicians of the far-flung region of the country. Bickram Ghosh,...
In keeping with the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) of the country, the North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC) is organizing in Jorhat a mega Northeast-centric carnival capturing the mood and brilliance of springtime. With more than 250 artistes participating, the festival will showcase the biggest ensemble of folk dances, folk music, craftsmen, choral singers, tribal folk musicologists and others who will present the best of regional dance, music, culture, et al. The North East Spring Festival, will be inaugurated in the presence of Honourable Chief Minister of Assam Shri Tarun Gogoi, Cultural Minister Pranati Phukan, NEZCC Chairman and Honourable...
The Open Platform, a mobile forum travelling through all the North east States, reaches Shillong tomorrow. The seminar will be held at the State Central Library by 12 pm. The Open Platform is a initiative of writer-activists Susan Waten of Nagaland and Aiyushman Dutta of Guwahati. Both writers are travelling to each town and city of the Northeast. The event in Shillong is coordinated along with the help of local writer Eric Nongkynrih. The Open Platform kick started in Guwahati on December 22, 2011 at the 13th North East Book Fair. Writers and poets, journalists and photographers, students and research scholars participated by reading out their published/unpublished works and by...
Maharishi Vidya Public Mandir of Six Mile celebrated their annual sports day 2011 at Shilgpram today. The function was inaugurated by AIPE director Boldendro Mohan Chakravorty, while international swimmer Mithu Baruah was the guest of honour. Various events like march past, yoga, aerobics, drills and various sporting activities were held as part of the day. The school’s principal Bandana Neog welcomed all those present. Swimmer Mithu Barua addressing students during annual day celebrations