The 7 Sisters North East International Film Festival which previously called Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival (BVFF) is a film festival hosted in

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, India annually since the year 2013.

Short film contest

A short film contest is organised as a part of this film festival. This is essentially to promote talent and stories from the region. The winners of this contest not only get recognition but also a chance to win prize money and opportunities to intern with the premier film production houses of the country.

History

The inaugural edition of the festival was organized in the year 2013 on 11 & 12 January at Anuradha Cineplex, Guwahati. Renowned filmmakers Dibakar banerjee,

Zoya Akhtar Zoya Akhtar (born 14 October 1972) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. After completing a diploma in filmmaking from NYU, she assisted directors such as Mira Nair, Tony Gerber and Dev Benegal, before becomin ...

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and Anusha Rizvi graced the festival with their presence. Critically acclaimed Bollywood movies like ''Shanghai'', ''Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara'', ''Taalash'', ''Peepli live'' were screened at the festival. A short film contest was also organized along with the Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival. Romi Meitei's ''Kanngkhada Lin'' was awarded winner of the contest. Dominic Sangma's ''Karyukai inc.'' and Tarunabh Dutta's ''I am Not Crazy'' were adjusted as 1st and 2nd runner up short films respectively. The second edition of the festival was held on 19th,20 and 21 April 2014 at Pragjyoti, ITA Machkhowa, Guwahati. Nationally internationally acclaimed film personalities

Farhan Akhtar Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influen ...

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Shoojit Sircar Shoojit Sircar (born ) is an Indian filmmaker, director and producer known for his work in Hindi films. He has received several awards, including two National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award from five nominations. Sircar made his directoria ...

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and

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were special guests of the film festival. Some of the movies screened at the festival in 2014 were ''Positive'', ''Konikar Ramdhenu'', ''Everybody says I'm Fine'', ''Echoes'', ''Keibu Keioiba'', ''Ka Lad'',

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, ''Kaafiron ki Namaaz'', ''Yarwang'', and Shorts among others. Steven Ao's ''Bamboo Shoots'' won the short film contest, whereas Romi Meitei's ''Karfew'' and Tribeny Rai's ''Rogi Sankhya 666 Ani Aru Haru'' were adjusted as 1st and 2nd runner up respectively. A lifetime achievement award was also introduced since 2014 to honour and acknowledge works of film personalities from

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

for their exceptional contribution to the cinema in Northeast. In 2014, the award was conferred to Shri

Aribam Syam Sharma Aribam Syam Sharma is an Indian filmmaker and composer from Manipur. He debuted in the first Manipuri film ''Matamgi Manipur'' as an actor. In 1974, he directed his first movie ''Lamja Parshuram''. It became the first Manipuri film to run for 100 ...

is a celebrated filmmaker from

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The third edition of the festival was organized in the year 2015 on 24, 25 and 26 April at Pragjyoti ITA Centre, Machkhowa, Guwahati. Some of the important renowned film personalities such as

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Kunal Kapoor Kunal Kapoor may refer to: * Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1959), Indian film actor * Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1977), Indian actor, writer and entrepreneur * Kunal Kapoor (cricketer) (born 1987), Indian cricketer * Kunal Karan Kapoor (born 1982), In ...

Rajkumar Rao Rajkummar Rao (born Raj Kumar Yadav; 31 August 1984) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi films. He has appeared in more than 30 films since 2010, and is the recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, three ...

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, ''Patralekha Paul'' and ''Amit Roy'' participated at the film festival apart from the filmmakers and film enthusiasts from all across Northeast. ''Khawnglung Run'', ''Riders of the Mists'', ''Crossing Bridges'', ''Ri- Homeland of Uncertainty'', ''Raag and Othelo'' were some of the highly acclaimed films from the northeast were screened at the festival. Jivitesh Mazumdar's ''Lotkon'' was the winner of Brahmaputra Valley Short Film contest 2015. Kamal Paran's ''Mirrage'' and Porag Gogoi's ''A River Island Tale'' won the 1st and 2nd runner up titles respectively. Renowned and legendary Assamese filmmaker Shri Abdul Majid was Awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award for the year 2015. The fourth edition of the festival 2016 was held on 22, 23 and 24 July at Pragjyoti ITA Centre, Guwahati. The three day festival was filled with various events in the presence of the eminent film personalities like Imtiaz Ali,

Prakash Jha Prakash Jha (born 27 February 1952) is an Indian film producer, actor, director and screenwriter, mostly known for his political and socio-political films such as “Hip Hip Hurray” (1984), ''Damul'' (1984), ''Mrityudand'' (1997), ''Gangaaja ...

, Ritesh Shah,

Vandana Kataria Vandana Katariya (born 15 April 1992) is an Indian field hockey player. She plays as a forward in the Indian national team. Vandana rose to prominence in 2013, being India's top goal-scorer in the 2013 Women's Hockey Junior World Cup, where ...

and

Amrit Pritam Amrit Pritam is a National Film Award winning sound designer and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, popularly known as the Oscar, as well as the Motion Picture Sound Editors. He is the recipient along with Resul Pooku ...

. Apart from the top 15 films from the short film contest, various films from different states of Northeast India such as Kima's Lode ''Beyond The Class'', ''Out of the Blue'', ''Eibusu Yaohanbiyu'', ''Tezpur 1962 My Country Land'', ''

One Last Question ''One Last Question'' is a short film completed in 2015, directed by Prathamesh Krisang. It is inspired from a true story in 1998 from a blog titled, "Agia to Oxford" by Manjit Nath. The film takes the viewer back to the Indian state of Assam i ...

'', ''The Head Hunter'', ''Doronir Nirola Poja'' were screened as the festival. Yesteryears Assamese actor Smt. Jnanada kakoti was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in this year. The short film contest winner for the year was Romi Meitei from Manipur for his film ''Colour of Water''. Meghalaya's Badeimon Kharshiing & Badeap K. Lyngdoh won the 1st runner up for their film and Assam's Manas Sagra won the 2nd runner up for his film ''Little Hearts''.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{YouTube, channel=UCU-F4rzFZQXy3crrDd96duQ, title=Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival Indian film festivals Short film festivals in India Cinema of Assam