Film festival from tomorrow - Manipuri film Leipaklei to be screened on inaugural day

Guwahati, Dec. 8: Back-to-back film festivals this month have only added to the winter delight.

After the ADDA Short Film Festival, movie buffs can now catch up with some wonderful movies at the 5th Guwahati Film Festival 2012, which will be held at Rabindra Bhawan from Monday. It will conclude on December 16.

The festival is dedicated to the memory of renowned Assamese filmmaker, Brojen Baruah. State cultural affairs minister Pranati Phukan will inaugurate it.

The week-long festival, organised by the Gauhati Cine Club in association with the European Union Club and the Film Federation Society of India, will screen some internationally acclaimed feature films and documentaries from different corners of the globe.

Films of international repute from 20 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Denmark, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Finland, England, South Africa, Mexico and Bangladesh, will be screened at the festival.

The film Leipaklei by Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Shyam Sharma will be screened on the inaugural day, followed by an interactive session. “We will also screen an Assamese movie by Brojen Baruah and a Manipuri film by Aribam Shyam Sharma. A package of eight short films and short animation movies have also been provided by the British Council Film and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). We have three shows from December 11 and one short film will be screened before each show,” said Madhurima Barua, the secretary of Gauhati Cine Club.

“Through this festival we will try to promote superior quality films among the youth. We will invite students from different colleges to attend the festival as it will be a learning experience for them. As filmmaker Aribam Shyam Sharma and the lead actress of Leipaklei, Tonthoi Leishangthem, will be present at the inaugural function, we will also arrange an interactive session with them,” Barua added.