Guwahati: The curtain came down to 10th Chalachitram National Film Festival (CNFF) as ‘Toy Gun’ (directed by Parashuram Thingnam from Manipur) and ‘The Silent Crisis’ (directed by Smitakshi B Goswami from Assam) were honoured with the best short feature and best documentary awards respectively in the northeast India section. Awards for best short feature and best documentary in the rest of India section, awards were given to ‘Gaach Pathar’ (directed by Somnath Bag) and ‘The Redemption’ (directed by Harikishan MV) respectively.
The closing function at Jyoti Chitraban film studio premise in Kahilipara locality of Guwahati in northeast India on 25 October 2026 was graced by State minister Nilima Devi and RSS’s Asom Kshetra Prachar Pramukh Dr Sunil Mohanty. In her speech, the minister admitted that making documentaries and short features always remains a challenging job. She urged the filmmakers to adopt stories of martyrs and great personalities for film making so that the new generation can realize India’s glorious history and culture. On the other hand, Dr Mohanty observed that various anti national elements tried to use the medium of cinema for propagating negative narratives about Bharat and its cherished heritage. He expressed hope that Chalachitram would inspire the film fraternity to produce more cinemas based on Indian heritage and culture for the international audience.
Other awards were went to the best director Sumi Saikia for ‘In 9 Months’, Shiddhartha Sharma for ‘Ankur’, best cinematographer to Rupamjyoti Saikia for ‘The Khamyang Story’, best editor to Ambarish Barkataki for ‘Ananta Jatra’ and Jury’s special mention to ‘Take Away’ (directed by Nithan). The two-day festival showcased 44 acclaimed documentaries and short feature films across competitive and non-competitive screening sections. The awardees were honoured with trophies, certificates and cash prizes in the presence of distinguished film personalities and cine-goers.
The festival opened on October 24 with the screening of the Japanese film ‘Kintsugi’ (directed by Noomen Noomen), which portrays the tragic journey of a young professional haunted by unresolved grief and childhood trauma, who eventually comes to terms with death and finds peace beyond life. The festival concluded with the screening of ‘Present’, directed by Uzbek filmmaker Asadbek Akmal Ogli. The film follows young cancer patients who find temporary joy in the company of a clown, before the story takes a tragic turn and unfolds an unexpected revelation.
Organised by Chalachitram, a subsidiary of Vishwa Samvad Kendra–Assam, the festival was held under the central theme ‘Our Heritage, Our Pride’. The festival was inaugurated by Dr Santwana Bardoloi, a National Award-winning film director. A festival souvenir titled Chalachitram, edited by senior cine journalist Hemchandra Doley, was released by Vidyasagar, chairman of Jyoti Chitraban Film Society, during the inaugural ceremony. The festival also featured a special tribute screening of ‘Bhupen Da Uncut’, directed by noted filmmaker Bobbeeta Sharma, commemorating the birth centenary of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika. Members of the preview committee, including Jhulan Krishna Mahanta, Bibhu Dutta, Hiten Thakuria, Dipak Dutta and Babita Sharma, were introduced to the audience, along with jury members Vishnu Sarma from Delhi, Sujit Debbarma from Tripura and Ramen Bora from Assam. All volunteers associated with Chalachitram were also acknowledged.
With a moderate beginning in 2016 with conceptualizing a society named Chalachitram with the primary aim of bringing film-works closer to the common people and also engaging the creative pieces as the weapon to create awareness of Indian culture and heritage, the CNFF for documentaries and short features has arrived on its ninth year. The inaugural edition was organised as Guwahati Film Festival (GFF) in 2017 at Rabindra Bhawan, Textile Institute, and Cotton University’s mass communication department (later in 2019 it was renamed). The GFF-2018 was shifted to Jyoti Chitraban premise. Since its third edition (CNFF-2019), the distinctive film-fest continues to showcase creative works on celluloid (now digital outlets) at the premise dedicated to the auspicious memory of Assam’s pioneer film-maker Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad.
The distinctive festival encompasses various issues like Indian heritage, indigenous society, heroes of the freedom movement, epics & mythology, national integration & solidarity, arts & artisans, manuscripts & paintings, tradition and family values, cultural nationalism, women empowerment, environment, land & people, tourism, arts, handicrafts & textiles, wood carving, manuscript & manuscript paintings, painting & woodcarving, music and musicians, indigenous festivals, traditional sports, monuments & heritage sites, social reformers & pioneers, tea and oil industries, etc.
India today witnesses a number of interesting national film festivals across the nation in different time slots. Thus the CNFF with ten years of its existence joins the elite clubs comprising MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, Great Indian Film and Literature Festival, Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival, Alpavirama South Asian Short & Documentary Film-fest, Bangalore Queer Film-fest, Brahmaputra Valley Film-fest, Cinemela Film-fest, Flashpoint Human Rights Film-fest, Golden Jury Film-fest, Hyderabad Bengali Film-fest, Indogma Film-fest, Jagran Film-fest, Jeevika Film-fest, Kalakari Film-fest, Madhubani Film-fest, New Delhi Film-fest, National Science Film-fest, Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema, Patna Film-fest, Rajasthan Film-fest, Tigerland India Film-fest, Verite Film-fest, Vibgyor Film-fest, etc.
On behalf of the organising committee, VSK Assam Secretary Kishor Shivam, CNFF President Nava Thakuria and Secretary Bhagawat Pritam expressed their gratitude to everyone who contributed to the festival’s success. They expressed hope that Chalachitram would continue to encourage emerging filmmakers to use cinema not for any glossy entertainment, but as a medium to empower underprivileged communities, preserve cultural heritage and foster patriotism.
Curtain comes down on 10th Chalachitram National Film Festival
