Two films from Assam are making news in the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The first is from mechanical engineer and MBA turned director Sanjib Sabhapandit from Guwahati whose Juye Poora Xoon (The Self Triumphs) is a story about illegal migration.
The issue is one that is "mainly politically motivated under the camouflage of economic poverty", says Sabhapandit. The film also looks at perennial flooding and erosion which have become a way of life in Assam.
The other film from Assam is Jyoti Prasad Das' The Green Warriors-Apatanis in English. In the space of 28 minutes, the filmmaker looks at an unusual tribe and its age-old eco-friendly practices in agriculture.
Says Das: "I am not a filmmaker. Actually, I'm a painter. When we made this film, we had no budget. If I don't get my money back, at least I would have documented the life of a people and a tribe."