Guwahati: Filmmaker Kripal Kalita’s debut feature film Bridge ,which throws light on the devastations and hardships that floods bring to Assam villages every year, is among the 12 movies that are currently being viewed by jury members who will finally select the Indian entry to the Oscars.
The 18-member panel has started the selection of the film at a cinema hall in Kolkata, sources said.
“Bridge is among the 12 films selected as part of Indian entry for best international feature. These will be screened before a jury and the process is being coordinated by the Film Federation of India. So it’s just an entry for Indian selection. The one selected by India will have to compete with the entries from other nations to make it to the Oscars shortlist,” a film industry professional who is acquainted with the process told TOI.
The director said this is really great news for Assamese films as it will reach a wider audience now.
“This is good news for me and the Assamese film industry. The award is a great acknowledgement for the Assamese film fraternity.This recognition will certainly boost the confidence of young filmmakers of the state. And also the film, which highlights the perennial issue — Assam floods — will get a wider platform ,” Kalita told TOI.
Bridge, which bagged the “Special Mention” award, at the International Film Festival of India in Goa this January, is set in Assam and is a colourful canvas of an unusual struggle of a teenage girl residing along the bank of a tributary of the mighty Brahmaputra. Every year, the Brahmaputra and its tributaries flood many villages and ruin cultivation. Kalita said the film’s protagonist Jonaki goes through an unusual struggle caused by floods. Her plight gets aggravated by the absence of a bridge over the river.
National Award-winning filmmaker Rima Das’s Village Rockstars, an Assamese-language feature, was the first film from Assam which was selected as India’s official entry for the best foreign language film category of the 2019 Academy (Oscar) Awards.
