North East Film Festival Controversy: Directors, Ministry, Organisers Weigh In

The North-East Film Festival (NEFF) 2023 was a three-day festival that started on 24 March.

It all started with a poster featuring yesteryears Bollywood celebs like Mahima Chaudhry, Padmini Kolhapure, Poonam Dhillon and Gulshan Grover. All stars in their own right but do they represent North East India?

The poster was on display at the venue in the recently concluded North-East Film Festival (NEFF) 2023 in Mumbai. An initiative by the Sikkim Film Promotion Board and National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC).

It's being alleged that there were no posters with cutouts of artistes and filmmakers from North East. The three-day festival showcased feature-length movies, short films and documentaries from the region.

What is 'NorthEast'?
It is a direction. Please drill that in.
What is this poster?
This is called batshit bullocks. pic.twitter.com/Q9H0tMknnI

— Chitra Ahanthem (@ChitraAhanthem) March 26, 2023

To start out with, we at The Quint wanted to tell the story of this misrepresentation. But as we started speaking to filmmakers and other participants, it started emerging that the poster controversy was the so called tip of the iceberg, they alleged the North East Film Festival had many more problems.

So we spoke to the organiser, representatives from the I&B ministry and Sikkim Film Promotion Board to understand what led to the controversy and their take on the festival.

'The Poster Should Have Had Artistes From North East Who Have Contributed in a Big Way to Indian Cinema'

Addressing the poster controversy National Award-winning filmmaker and film critic Utpal Borpujari, whose documentary won an award at the festival, said, "The poster in question comprised of guests who were invited to the opening and closing ceremonies. There was one person from the North East in the poster, a Naga singer who compered the opening ceremony and also sang. In that case, it should have been mentioned. I feel that there should have been posters in the venue with cutouts of film personalities from the North East like Danny Denzongpa, Adil Hussain and Seema Biswas, who have contributed in a big way to Indian cinema".

Borpujari added,

"There were other posters also, which were collages of films that were shortlisted for the festival. But some of the collages had movies that weren't even selected in the final round. What was very jarring was that it's a North East film festival, and the poster didn't have a single person from the community".

Utpal Borpujari, Filmmaker

Borpujari continued, "This is not the first time that a North East film festival has been organised by the ministry - it was done in 2014-16 too in Delhi and Pune, with a different name. It's a good initiative, but there can be a lot of room for improvement when it comes to the organisation and execution. I understand that there was a time constraint, but as filmmakers we expect it to be done in a professional and comfortable way".

"There were no official mails from the organisers regarding the selection of films. The team just reached out to us for screening copies. On top of that, I had to inquire about local transport. Initially, I was told that the filmmakers attending will have to make their own travel arrangements from the venue to hotel. After I objected, the director of films at the I&B ministry, Armstrong Pame, instructed the management to look into the logistics. These are things which should have been there in the first place".

Utpal Borpujari, Filmmaker

"Also, if there's a budget available, there should have been a prize money for films that have won. A lot of young filmmakers who come from remote areas don't make any money from their movies, this prize money encourages them to pursue with their filmmaking endevours ", the director added.

'Look at the Intention Behind This Festival, Not the Poster'

Pooja Sharma, Chairperson of the Sikkim Film Promotion Board, said that the organisers are quite happy with the outcome given that there was a huge time constraint. "The response was actually very good. We had a very short time to put the festival together, and we are happy with the outcome. We had celebrities like Randeep Hooda, Poonam Dhillon, Padmini Kolhapure attending the festival and around 1000 people turned up every day".

However, a director, on the condition of anonymity, told The Quint that just seven people who he had invited for the screening of his movie had turned up.

Pooja also spoke about how people shouldn't just focus on the criticism around the festival but also the intention behind it.

"We just had 10-15 days within which we had to organise the festival. Being supported by the NDFC is a hugely encouraging thing. Celebrities from the North East who have made it big in the industry, such as Danny Denzongpa, were also acknowledged. The main thing is the intention of the festival, not the poster. The intention was to bring films from the North East to other parts of the country".

Pooja Sharma, Chairperson, Sikkim Film Promotion Board

'Was Asked to Watch 31 Films in a Week; Wasn't Even Aware That I Was Part of a Panel'

National award winning filmmaker Pradip Kurbah, who's based out of Shillong, was not very pleased with the lack of communication from the organisers. "I got a call from the organisers to be a part of the jury. I was surprised because the call came around 17 March , and the festival was supposed to start from the 24th. I thought I had to watch around six movies, but when they sent me the films, they were 31 of them! There were short films, feature length ones as well as documentaries".

"I called the organisers and told them it was impossible for me to watch all the movies. I have been a jury member of other festivals before, including the National Awards and I wanted to know who the other members were. Normally, we jury members discuss and sit together while curating. Nothing of that sort happened here. They just asked me to submit the ratings. I watched the feature films and did that".

Pradip Kurbah, National Award Winning Filmmaker

Pradip added that he was also unaware that he was supposed to be a panelist for a session.

"I suddenly got to know from a filmmaker from Mizoram who was attending the festival, that I was one of the panelists for a session. I was not aware of it at all and I just received a mail much later. I thought the organisers would call to discuss the details, but nothing happened. I wrote back saying that I am based in Shillong, and to be a part of the panel on the 26th, I have to leave on the 25th. They never got back".

Pradip Kurbah, National Award Winning Filmmaker

Pradip continued, "It's a good initiative by the I&B ministry. But outsourcing the management to people who have no clue how to organise a film festival is a problem. You are getting films from the North East and screening them in Bombay, so at least consult us".

He also touched upon the selection criteria of films. "I was surprised seeing the list of short films that were sent to me. Most of the movies are already there on YouTube, so why would they be a part of a festival?"

"Also, there were no films from Meghalaya! When NFDC is a part of this festival, why did they outsource it?"

Another Assamese filmmaker, Shantanu Sen, who won the best director (bronze) award at the festival, highlighted the problems that the invited filmmakers faced in Mumbai. "I had to share my room with another filmmaker. I am perfectly okay with that but how can I be made to share the same bed with a person I don’t even know?"  

He added, "I got a phone call from the festival organisers, and there was no official email from them. I have been a part of several festivals before but that’s never been the case". 

"In most credible film festivals, all shortlisted filmmakers are called to participate. But here only the winning filmmakers were invited. Now that raises a question on the credibility of such a high-profile film festival, it almost gives the impression that the winning entries were decided upon even before the festival began".

Shantanu Sen, Filmmaker

"But I must say that Armstrong Pame was gracious enough to apologise to the filmmakers at the festivals for any inconvenience, and said that it had to be hurriedly organized before the end of this financial year.  He has promised that all these issues would be addressed and rectified in the future edition", Shantanu responded.  

'Without an Invite, People Couldn't Have Been a Part of the Panel'

Rebecca Changkija Sema, founder of Find Studioz, has been in the event management space for a decade and was in charge of organising the festival. Refuting Pradip's claims about not being very communicative about the panel.

"An official mail had gone from our end. We didn’t have enough time and it took us at least ten days to collect over 200 films. We had called Pradip Kurbah and he said he was keen to attend. But we had to replace him because we didn’t get any further confirmation from him".

She even addressed claims of jury members not being given enough time to watch the movies. "We didn't force the jury to do anything. We were being pressurized by the ministry to get the results from the jury, but whoever asked for more time we gave it to them. We didn't interfere".

About the poster controversy Rebecca said, "It was part of the creative design. Those were the guests we had invited because we wanted to fill up the gap. We had been asked by the I&B ministry and the NDFC to invite as many celebrities as possible".

Manipuri filmmaker Haobam Paban Kumar, while appreciating the efforts, also highlighted that there's a lot that can be improved.

"Many important things were discussed and there were people from the Ministry who were very keen to help the North East. But the event was badly organised. I agree that it was done in a hurried manner, the organisers had no time but you need to be more careful because North East is a sensitive area. A good initiative can go completely undone when there are such glitches".

Haobam Paban Kumar, Filmmaker

'Organizers Did a Commendable Job'

Filmmaker Bhaskar Hazarika of Aamis fame was all praise for the organizers. "I think the organizers did a commendable job of hosting the filmmakers and panellists and coordinating their schedules, considering how little time they had to prepare. Typically, a mid-size film festival like this needs at least 3-4 months of preparation. I’m hoping they have learnt a lot and will prepare for the next edition much earlier".

Having said that Bhaskar did express his dismay at the poster. "Frankly, I barely registered the offending poster, but it is definitely a huge lapse to approve a poster for the North East Film Festival with none of the icons of cinema from that region on it. I’d put it down to the haste with which the whole festival was organized and the ignorance of the creative team assigned to this task".

'We Had a Budget of Around a Crore, & Despite Constraints There Was a Good Response'

Armstrong Pame, the dynamic and young IAS officer from Manipur, now the Director Films at the Infromation and Broadcasting Ministry explained why there was such a hurry to organise the festival. "Most of us work in the government sector and March, being the end of the financial year, is an extremely busy month. Also, budget allocations had to be utilised by 31 March 2023. We had been planning the festival since January, but other things came up so we had to put this together in a hurry".

Speaking about the budget Pame said "For the North East Film Festival, we were allocated a budget of around one crore. It includes travel, accommodation, screening of films and the entire execution. Considering the constraints, I was quite happy with the participation - most of the panel discussions had great attendance.

But a filmmaker who won an award at the North East Film Festival, but didn't want to be named in this story, alleges that with this kind of a budget, the North East Film Festival could have been much better organised by Find Studioz & Sikkim Film Promotion Board; with proper coordination, better accommodation and conveyance facilities, and prize money for the winning films. Time was a constraint for the organisers, not the money.