Chalachitram National Film Festival, an annual feast for committed moviegoers, commences on Saturday morning in the far eastern part of Bharat, where 50 documentary and short feature films in both competitive and non-competitive categories will be screened. Organised with an aim to foster nationalism through film works and pay homage to India’s thousands of years old civilization, culture and heritage annually, the two-day film–fest (26, 27 October 2024) will be open for film-buffs.

Eighth edition of the unique festival at Jyoti Chitraban premises in  Kahilipara locality of the prehistoric city will be inaugurated by Cotton University Vice-Chancellor Dr Ramesh Ch Deka in presence of national award winning singer Tarali Sarma and a host of dignitaries.

Initiated by Chalachitram, a subsidiary of Vishwa Samvad Kendra Assam, the festival centres around the theme ‘Our Heritage, Our Pride’ and encompasses other issues like Land & People, Tourism, Arts, Handicrafts & Textiles, Manuscript & Manuscript Paintings, Painting & Woodcarving, Music and Musicians, Cultural Festivals, Monuments & Heritage sites, Social Reformers & Pioneers, Sports, Tea & Oil Industries, Culture & Values, Social Awareness, Family System,  Women, Environment, etc. The Last Generation, directed by Prabal Khaund and produced by Gopal Jalan & Dhrubojyoti Kakati, will be shown as the inaugural film.

A number of interesting films are selected for the competition category (Northeast), where Birubala-the Crusader (by Dhiraj Kashyap), Prayojan (by  Krishna Das), The Butcher (by Tashi Wangshu MJ), Wrong Number (by  Bijit Borgohain),  Journey with A Dance Form (by  Pranjal Pratim Chetia),  Aadi Shakti Maa Kamakhya (by  Pradip Ch Sarma), Heaven on the Earth (by Prasanta Kalita), A Sylvan Saga (by Jyoti Prasad Das),  Rising Sunbirds (by Sudeshna Gupta),  The Caretaker (by Biswajit Das),  Missing Cuisine (by  Pranjal Pratim Chetia) and Teens of 1942 (by Samiran Deka) will be screened. On the other hand, the non-competition category of the section comprises films like Being Bald (by Krishna Das),  Garishali (by  Ashomi Sarma), Bichitra (by  Tuhin Kanya Bora), Destination (by Dipak Kumar Roy) and  Ekaki (by  Rupam Jyoti Malakar).

The national competition category includes My National Flag (by Sweta Kumar Dash), Shashwatam (by Monaksh N Kanirkar),  Jaswandha (by Shoneel Yallattikar),  Nimbu Mirchi (by  Atul Subhashrao Camble),  Tiny World (by  Shashidhar Kote),  A Letter to My Home (by Devajani Halder),  Sundarban (by  Arindam Konar & Shyam sundar Paul),  Bhookh (by  Saaikat Bagbaan),  Yes Sir (by  Mohit Singhal),  Multi (by Mrunal Mestri),  The Waiting (by Lalit Kr Jha & Sumit Kohli), Minus (by  Aritra Das),  Uma (by Abanti Sinha),  The Village of Masks (by Ritabrita Mitra),  Promise (by  Ravikant Narayan), Rainbow Classroom (by Madhurjya Alankaar),  Bin Boy (by  Bauddhayan Nukherji) and The Last Talk (by  Ashish Thakur).

The non-competition category (national) comprises films like Gods of Clay – Matir Thakur (by Amit Bhattacharjee), Reserve Women Right (by  Bijoy Kumar Dogra),  Rah Me Unse (by  Harsh Panchalwar), Sagavaram (by  Dinesh Balasri), Dennis and His Kamballa Bufallow (by Praveenk Shetty & Nitesh Anchan), Little Explorer (by  Sapru VV), Air Pollution (by  Umesh Y Gaurav), Black Hole (by Pradyumna), I am not Down (by Jyoti Madnani), Khera- The Lakshmi of Chilika (by Sudeshna Gupta), Windermere Ki Ramleela (by  Siddharth Rawal), Status (by Madhan R Karthick), Proof of the Soul (by Gulshan Singh) and Manvi (by  Indrani Ghosh) for screening.

The festival will start screening of selected films at 10 am and continue till 6 pm on both days. A jury board consisting of artists, critics, filmmakers, writers and other professionals will select the winning film works. The awardees will be honoured with cash prizes, trophies and certificates during the closing function in the presence of distinguished cine-personalities and film appreciators including Assam’s evergreen celluloid heroin Mridula Barua,  eminent film-makers Sanskar Desai, Santosh Pathare, Jadumani Dutta, Oinam Gautam, etc. Bhagwat Pritam and Kishor Shivam, representing the organizing committee, expressed hope that the exercise will encourage the budding filmmakers to endorse more quality productions to introduce cinema as a powerful tool for social transformations and not merely a money-making endeavour.

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