Guwahati July 22: The fourth Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival commenced at Pragjyoti ITA in Machkhowa here today.

The additional chief secretary of planning and development department K.V. Eapen, was the guest of honour and film director Prakash Jha and sound designer Amrit Pritam were special guests.

The film festival, an initiative of Tattva Creations, will continue till July 24, aims to bridge the gap between regional cinema and Bollywood and to allow exchange of talent.

Festival director Tanushree Hazarika said, "The festival is our homage to the rich culture of Northeast. It's an initiative for both the upcoming and experienced filmmakers to come together and rediscover different aspects of movie-making."

Addressing the gathering, Jha said, "We always feel the paucity of contribution from Northeast as far as the mainstream cinema is concerned. But don't feel too worried about it because Hindi cinema is not really Indian cinema."

He said instead of looking for filmmakers from outside to tell stories of this region, they should seek assistance and tell stories from the inside.

"Your stories must be told by you. I'm from Bihar and every film I make, even if it isn't set in Bihar, people always find something in them to relate to Bihar. We're familiar with the landscape we grew up in. People like us should be able to assist, help and provide the opportunity and facility for others to express themselves," he said.

Unlike the previous editions of the festival, where only 10 films from across the Northeast were showcased, the number this year has risen to 15 as they had received entries of more than 100 films.

The jury members for this year's short film contest are film directors Reema Kagti, Rajni Basumatary, Bhaskar Hazarika and Roopa Barua, producer Ronnie Lahiri, actor and author Bobeeta Sharma and film critic Utpal Borpujari.

K.V. Eapen said, "This forum is an opportunity for so many of our budding film makers. Our film industry is not able to employ all the talent here, which is why they move out looking for work. We need more regional institutes. Regional film need not be a parochial film. It can tell stories and make an impact across the world. We need not make lots of films, but we can make quality films and we have the basic human infrastructure to make such films."

The inauguration ceremony was concluded with actor Nishita Goswami singing two lines from her film Ramdhenu. She also anchored the event with co-actor Utpal Das.