Guwahati : Seemanta Chetana Mancha Purvottar is set to host the SOUL – Stories of Unity, Land and Culture Docu-Fiction Film Festival 2025, a unique three-day cinematic celebration that places the cultural spirit of Northeast India at its heart. The festival will bring together filmmakers, researchers, storytellers, and communities to honor the sacred relationship between people and the land they inhabit through powerful narratives rooted in tradition, unity, and reverence for the earth.
The festival seeks to preserve and promote diverse land-based rituals and cultural practices through storytelling and cinematic expression. At its heart lies a mission to document traditions that value land not merely as a resource but as a living entity deeply intertwined with identity and spirituality.
According to the organizers, SOUL will provide a pioneering platform for filmmakers, artists, and researchers to highlight the unity in diversity that characterizes India, particularly the Northeast. Delegates can register free of cost, making the festival accessible to participants from across the region and beyond.
The festival’s vision and mission include:
Archiving and celebrating rituals and practices that express cultural respect for land.
Encouraging documentation of stories that reflect unity, cultural richness, and spiritual depth.
Fostering awareness of traditions that connect humans and the earth.
Bringing together communities across Northeast India and the rest of the country through docu-features.
A competitive platform, SOUL 2025 will also recognize outstanding cinematic contributions. Awards include ₹1,00,000 for the Best Docu-fiction/Documentary Film, ₹75,000 for the second-best, and ₹50,000 for the third-best. Additional prizes will honor the Best Director (₹25,000), Best Cinematographer (₹20,000), and a Special Jury Award (Certificate).
The concept behind SOUL emphasizes that Bharat’s strength lies in its diversity. From the Himalayas to the deserts of Rajasthan, from the plains of the Ganga to the hills of the Northeast, the nation thrives on cultural differences bound by a shared reverence for land. “Our diversities are not differences, but the inherent sense of unity within,” the festival note highlights.
Organisers believe the event will not only celebrate storytelling but also strengthen the spirit of national integration. By showcasing the rituals and practices of hill and plain communities of Northeast India, the festival underlines the region’s cultural richness and its contribution to the larger Indian identity.
Seemanta Chetana Mancha Purvottar, the socio-cultural, non-political organization spearheading SOUL, has long worked to promote safety, security, and development in the international border areas of Northeast Bharat. Rooted in patriotism, the organization continues to empower border communities while fostering cultural pride and awareness.
With its focus on both cinematic creativity and cultural preservation, SOUL 2025 promises to be more than just a film festival. It stands as a call to rediscover and honor the sacred bond between human beings and the land celebrating stories that transcend religion, geography, and boundaries.
The 14 Ritual Moments Celebrated Through Docu-Fiction
SOUL 2025 will highlight rituals and cultural practices performed at significant moments in life and community traditions, including:
• At the time of new house construction
• At the time of house warming
• At the time of starting a new business or factory
• At the time of ploughing paddy fields
• At the time of reaping the crop
• At the time of marriage
• At the time of festivals
• At the time of tree cutting
• At the time of birth or naming ceremony
• At the time of death and burial rituals
• At the time of digging a well, forewell, or water body (ponds, tanks, etc.)
• At the time of planting sacred trees or medicinal plants
• At the time of sowing seeds
• And at any other time depending on community-specific rituals
Festival is scheduled for :
Opening Ceremony: 19th September, 11:00 AM
Closing Ceremony: 21st September, 3:00 PM
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