A film being screened at Sualkuchi on Sunday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Sualkuchi, Dec. 13: The village that wows the world with its silk was captivated by the variations of silver screen last evening.

To most of the villagers a film means three hours of drama — romance, tragedy, comedy. The alien concept of short and crisp films laden with social messages confused them at first and then left them spellbound. For them, it was a first-of-its kind experience worthy of a Sunday evening.

The effort to screen the films at Sualkuchi, 35km from Guwahati, was made by Cinegoers, a group formed by youths from different professions who are working to popularise Assamese films among villagers.

The cine-buffs selected seven short films for screening — Anyajan (the other side) and Image (both directed by Amardeep Gogoi), Serengipity and Gaze (both directed by Suraj Duarah), Pages from Anand Ke Pal (directed by Biman Moral Choudhury), Do the Dew (directed by Debashish Bharadwaj) and The Chorus (directed by Abbas Kiorosiami). Besides the short films, they also screened two Assamese feature films — Aideu directed by Arup Manna and Aabartan directed by Bhabendra Nath Saikia.

“The villagers do not get the opportunity to see Assamese films. The concept of short film is quite unknown to them. We are trying to popularise short films and Assamese films among them,” said Arup Jyoti Deka, a member of Cinegoers.

Their idea bears significance as Assam’s rural areas are traditionally inclined towards performing arts and are said to be the ones keeping mobile theatres afloat.

Deka said the forum would cover more rural areas in the days to come. “We have collected the films from different persons who have been working with short films. The Guwahati Cine Club also helped us,” Deka said.

Initially, the audience seemed confused at the length of the films. But soon they started enjoying them. “I didn’t know that a film could be of five to 10 minutes. Although they are short, they are really interesting,” said Putul Das, one of the audience.

“If one enjoys a short film properly, one can get a good message within a very short time. We congratulate Cinegoers for giving us the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful evening,” said Bikash Kalita.

The Assamese films were no less hit. Hirakjyoti Das, a Class IX student of Ganesh Das High School in the area, was moved by Aideu. The film shows how Aideo Handique, the first Assamese actress, had to suffer social ostracism for acting in Joymoti at a time when working in films was a taboo for women.