A still from Khawnglung Run

Guwahati, Aug. 19: The Directorate of Film Festivals is organising a three-day festival of cinema from the region — Fragrances from the North East — at Siri Fort Auditorium complex in New Delhi from August 22.

Cultural programmes, handicraft exhibitions, food stalls and events showcasing the rich composite culture of the Northeast will supplement the film screenings during the festival. Minister for information and broadcasting Prakash Javadekar will inaugurate the festival.

It will be attended by leading film personalities from the region, including internationally acclaimed filmmakers Jahnu Barua and Aribam Syam Sharma, and actors like Danny Dengzongpa, Seema Biswas, Adil Hussain and Geetanjali Thapa.

“I invite all like-minded people of New Delhi, particularly the young, to come and experience the three-day festival. These fragrances from the Northeast are wafting into the capital after many years,” said Shankar Mohan, director, DFF.

The festival will begin with the screening of Mizo feature film Khawnglung Run (The Raid of Khawnglung), which is directed and produced by Mapuia Chongthu, with a miniscule budget of Rs 12 lakh.

This film, based on true events of the historical massacre of Khawnglung village in Manipur during 1856-1859, won many hearts with its visual panache when it was screened as part of the North-East Focus section of the International Film Festival of India in Goa last year.

The screening will be preceded by a cultural show designed especially for the event by popular singer-composer Papon to take the audience on a musical journey of the region.

The festival will also feature two National Award-winning films of this year: Jahnu Barua’s Ajeyo (Assamese) and Pradip Kurbah’s Ri: A Homeland of Uncertainty (Khasi, Meghalaya).

From Sikkim, the festival will have Prashant Rasaily’s Gurkhali film Katha, while Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh will be represented by Oinam Gautam Singh’s Manipuri film Phijigee Mani, Joseph Pulinthanath’s Kokborok language film Yarwng and Ahsan Mujid’s Monpa language film Sonam respectively.

From Nagaland, a short film, Bamboo Shoots, directed by Steven Ao and a documentary, Going the Distance, directed by Tiainla Jamir, will be screened.

Kurbah’s Ri will be the closing film of the festival. Its screening on August 24 will be preceded by a cultural event that will see classical pianist Nise Meruno’s performance of Naga folk fusion and choir group Nagaland Singing Ambassadors’ rendition of Naga folk-based choir.

The organisers said entry to musical performance and cinemas is free on a first-come first-serve basis. They have asked the visitors to bring photo-identity cards.