GUWAHATI: Much awaited for this year, the 9th edition of the Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival was launched at the historic Jyoti Chitraban Film Studio in Guwahati.
This four-day affair has transformed the city into a cinematic hub of celebration, inviting filmmakers, cinephiles, and other notable personalities from the Indian film industry to the heart of the Northeast.
Festival Director Tanushree Hazarika spoke about the festival's mission during the inauguration, saying, "BVFF has always been a platform to bring compelling stories to the forefront and foster meaningful conversations in the world of cinema.
This year's lineup is a testament to the diverse and vibrant filmmaking talent we have in the country.
BVFF features 30 films: 13 feature films, 5 documentaries, and 12 short films that make for a rich tapestry of Indian storytelling, sharply divided into competitive and non-competitive sections. The festival will run masterclasses and industry sessions parallel to the screening, sparking inspiration and learning for both filmmakers and audiences.
Among the festival's highlights will be the theater premiere of 'Sardar Udham', directed by Shoojit Sircar and produced by Ronnie Lahiri, a film featuring Vicky Kaushal that recreates the haunting story of the quest by Udham Singh for justice following the Jallianwala Bagh killings. The movie is long overdue for theatrical release as was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also in the limelight are 'Village Rockstars 2', the sequel to Rima Das's award-winning film, and Payal Kapadia's 'All We Imagine as Light', which was one of the derivatives of shockwaves across Cannes from last year when it took home the Grand Prix award.
The evening saw the opening ceremony of the festival attended by celebrities such as filmmaker Navdeep Singh, producer Ronnie Lahiri, and actor Kapil Bora along with dignitaries such as Diganto Bora, Commissioner of Police, Guwahati, and Dr. Apurba Sarma, Chairperson of Tulip Mediworld. Folk-fusion singer Abhishruti Bezbaruah's spellbinding performance was a perfect touch to the evening.
The festival opened with Kenny Deori Basumatary's 'Bibo Binanao (My Three Sisters)', a poignant Boro-language film about a young woman navigating life's struggles to support her siblings.
As the festival progresses, audiences can look forward to the premieres of ‘Chabila’ by Anil Amrut Bhalerao, ‘Mithya’ by Sumanth Bhat, and ‘Jibonsobi’ by Mridu Pawan Bora. The French animated feature ‘Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds’ is also set to captivate viewers.
The documentary section has fantastic entries, such as 'Jyoti Kokaideu' by Parthajit Baruah, 'Two Trains' by Vishwesh Suresh, and 'Zende: The Supercop' by Akshay Shah. Apart from that, key film industry personalities like actress Aishwarya Lekshmi, journalist Rajeev Masand, producer Dimpy Agrawal, and filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia will be speaking in industry sessions and BVFF Reel Talk, sharing their expertise with budding creators.
As BVFF continues, the festival promises to celebrate cinematic excellence while encouraging dialogue and collaboration. Premieres, thought-provoking discussions, and the presence of acclaimed filmmakers such as Tigmanshu Dhulia, Abhishek Chaubey, Anvita Dutt, and many more solidify the status of BVFF as a corner-stone event for film lovers. The Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival is more than a celebration of cinema-it's an incubator of innovation, connectivity, and evolution of stories.
ALSO READ:
ALSO WATCH: