The first edition of Jonaki Film Festival, organized by the students of Department of Communication and Journalism, Gauhati University, came to an end on November 30. The two-day film festival witnessed more than 2,000 cine lovers turning up to watch the bouquet of films.
The festival screened 13 films – an exclusive array of fantastic films from Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal and Assam, including the National Award winning director Deep Choudhary’s Alifa.
The closing ceremony was attended by Local Kung Fu actor-director Kenny Basumatary, director of Alifa Deep Choudhary, Kannen-fame Monjul Baruah, director Dhruva Bordoloi, director Jhulan Krishna Mahanta and actress Jahanra Begum.
The trailer of Kenny Basumatary’s upcoming film Suspended Inspector Boro, which is releasing on December 7, was also screened at the closing ceremony.
Alifa-fame Deep Choudhary said that he was quite pleasantly surprised to see the huge crowd in the festival. “I am a young director and I want the youth to watch Assamese cinema. It is great sign that a good number of young cine enthusiasts have come to the festival to watch the films. I am hopeful for the future of Assamese cinema,” he said.
Noted actress Jahanara Begum said that she was delighted by the audience reaction at the Jonaki Film Festival. “This is a great event and a ray of hope for the regional film industry as such kind of events are much required in the present time to have better understanding of the films,” she said.
Speaking on the occasion, head of communication and journalism department, Ankuran Dutta said, “I congratulate all the students for their hard work and effort for this event. This film festival was ‘by the students, for the students, of the students’. I also thank all the film personalities for accepting the invitation and encouraging the young students.”
Dutta also announced that the department will organize a Quantitative Research Program from December 19-21. Also, the department will organize an International Folk Media Festival in February, 2019.
Subrat Dutta, chief coordinator of Jonaki Film Festival said that the sole motive of the festival is to promote language films from Northeast among the students as well as provide a roadmap for aspiring filmmakers to make films about its people.
Director of Orang, Suraj Duwarah, said that the Jonaki Film festival should continue. “It is good initiative by the students of department of communication and journalism. I hope that other colleges and universities of Assam will also organise such events,” Duwarah said.
