Sept. 14: The new DVD version of first Assamese film, Joymati, by legendary filmmaker Jyotiprasad Agarwala will be screened at the Cinema Samaroh 2006 — a festival of regional and international movies — to be held in the city from September 19 to 22.

The festival, which is being organised by a voluntary organisation, Samaroh, in collaboration with Gauhati Cine Club, will include seminars on different topics related to films, media and marketing.

“The proposed festival will be honoured to have a special screening of Joymati, the first Assamese movie, which was recently screened at Frankfurt in Germany,” said convener of the event, Manoj Barpujari.

Joymati, a movie based on a story by Sahityarathi Lakhsminath Bezbaruah, was released at Raunak Cinema Hall in Calcutta on March 10, 1935.

“We are proud to announce that Hridayananda Agarwala, the person who had taken so much care to preserve the remaining reels of the film, will be felicitated at the inaugural function that would be held at Lakhmiram Baruah Sadan,” Barpujari said. Hridayananda is the younger brother of Jyotiprasad Agarwala.

“We will also felicitate Sada Chowdhary, who has made substantial contribution in preserving prints of Assamese films,” he added.

Cry in the Dark by Haobam Paban Kumar, Hasina by Girish Kasaravalli, Zorba the Greek by Micheal Cocoyannis are some of the movies to be screened at the festival.

The organisers said stalwarts in the field of filmmaking and media will be joined by other industry people and government policy makers at the seminars on different subjects.