At a time when it has been said that Assamese film industry, or for that matter, the regional film industry in other North-eastern states, are heading towards its grave, here’s some good news for film lovers as well as the film fraternity of the North-East. And, it has come as a fresh whiff of air for the ailing film industry in the region. Not one, not two, but, as many as five films from the region have been selected for the Indian Panorama in the forthcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2008, to be held in Goa from November 22. Then again, another reason for the North-East to take pride in this year’s event is the fact that Assamese filmmaker Gautam Bora is one of the jury members in the feature film section.

Yarwng, a feature film in Kokborok language from Tripura, will open the film festival, while the other film in the feature film section of the Indian Panorama is the Assamese film Mon Jai, directed by upcoming director M Maniram. The documentaries A Friend Turned Foe by Gautam Saikia, Distant Rumblings by Bani Prakash Das and Ratan Thiyam: The Man of Theatre by Nirmala Chanu and Oken Amakcham have been selected for the non-fiction category of Indian Panorama. It’s a matter of pride that after a long time, multiple entries from the North-East will be seen in the Indian Panorama section of IFFI.

Made in the midst of a virtual drought of filmmaking in Assam, Mon Jai is the first feature film by young M Maniram, who is also the scriptwriter. Produced by a band of young culture lovers, this bold movie tries to explore the contemporary issues of Assam and how the young generation has been afflicted by problems like floods, extremism, unemployment, illegal influx from Bangladesh etc., resulting in them becoming an unruly lot, thus creating an imbalance in the social fabric itself. The high point of this film is the lively portrayal of roles by its actors who include, among others, young singing sensation Zubeen Garg in a new avatar.

Father Joseph Pilinthanath’s 95-minute feature Yarwng is about the lives of ordinary people caught in the changing socio-economic scenario, and yet striving to hold on to human values. Incidentally, Yarwng is the second film from the North-East to open an IFFI fest, the first being Bidyut Chakraborty’s Assamese feature film Raag Birag in 1997.

Noted wildlife filmmaker Gautam Saikia’s 15-minute documentary A Friend Turned Foe highlights the intensifying man-elephant conflict in Assam. “The documentary depicts the worsening man-elephant conflict, and has primarily been shot in Golaghat district, one of the worst-affected areas,” says Saikia, whose previous film Jaws of Death, capturing the animal casualties in Kaziranga during floods, was screened at IFFI 2005.

Publicity-shy Assamese cultural activist Bani Prakash Das’ Distant Rumblings is an entry from Nagaland, the first ever from the state, in Indian Panorama. Produced by a Naga woman Rongsenkala, the documentary is themed around the World War II, that had left an indelible mark on the landmass of North-East India and its people — war wreckages as well as mental wreckages in the form of lingering melancholy.

Manipuri theatre personality Ratan Thiyam is the subject matter of the documentary Ratan Thiyam: A Man of Theatre from Manipur where the works and the life of the living legend have been vividly portrayed.

Let’s hope the films from the North-East make a mark in the upcoming Goa film extravaganza, winning plaudits from film lovers and critics alike.

Mridumoloy