In his opening remark, Utpal Borpujari said, ‘curating the package of the North-East films for the 44th IFFI has been very satisfying as the movies are not only the cultural documentation of the region but a holistic expression of their times.’
He informed that the cinema in North-East will complete 80 years in 2015. Presenting the film-maker’s perspective, the award-winning director and short-story writer from Assam asserted that ‘though the cinema in North-East has not reached the stage where we wouldn’t need the ‘North-East’ tag, the films being made in the region are universal in their language.’ She invited the attention of the Government and media towards regional cinema as both play a major role in its promotion.
The widely-acclaimed actor, Adil Hussain said, ‘acting is a ritual for me, I get evolved through acting.’ It is empathy, compassion and passion which makes good films and ‘you don’t need good money to make good films’, he added. Eminent actor Seema Biswas of the ‘Bandit Queen’ fame said she ‘feels committed to do every film from the North-East provided the script is competent.’
The ‘North-East Focus’ segment contains 19 films including ‘Matamgi Manipur’ (Manipuri), ‘Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Aru Joymoti’ (Assamese), ‘Hangramayao Jinahari’ (Bodo) and ‘Panoi Jongki’ (Mising). The segment was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Dr Mukul Sangma.
