Rupak Bhuyan’s short film bags 7 awards at International Film Festivals
HT Correspondent
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SIVASAGAR, Sept 10: “Anya ek prithvi” (A Different World) – a short film written, directed, and produced by noted filmmaker and theatre personality from Sivasagar Rupam Bhuyan – has won 7 international awards.
The film, based on the world of the visually impaired, received awards at (1) Buddha Int’l Film Fest, Pune (Best Indian Short Film), (2) Athvikvaruni Int’l Film Fest, Chennai (Best Experimental Short Film), (3) Golden Sparrow Int’l Film Fest, Goa (Special Jury Award and Best International Short Film), (4) Nitin Int’l Film Fest, Malaysia (Best Experimental Short Film), (5) Rohip Int’l Film Fest, Goa (Best Experimental Short Film), (6) Makizmithran Int’l Film, Goa (Best Experimental Short Film) and (7) Madras Int’l Film Fest, Chennai (Special Mention Award and Best Experimental Short Film).
Talking to this correspondent on Saturday, Bhuyan said that he was inspired to make a film on the visually impaired after producing a drama in Sivasagar Natya Mandir a couple of years back with the students of the Moran Blind School.
One of the students requested him to make a film with them. Bhuyan’s son and his sister Ranjana Chaliha also inspired him to make the film.
He wrote a script and finally on January 5, 2022, he brought 22 blind students from different places of Assam. He chose an ideal location in Sapekhati Dhuniapathar gaon and did the shooting there for over a fortnight. The villagers generously helped him and Bhuyan expressed gratitude to them. Bhuyan said that he did not have any financial assistance from any individual or institution in making the film.
Bhuyan said that making a film with the visually impaired is highly challenging but their superior sensitivity and their wonderful capacity to follow oral instructions made the task easy.
Taking up the project, he made telephonic conversations with every individual of the group to understand their world and their feelings and conceptions. He added that his film was shown in a preliminary selection round in Hollywood Raleigh Studio on August 29. If it gets selected, it will be included in a group of five best short films to be shown before a panel of eminent critics and filmmakers. Bhuyan said that his film is the first Assamese film of any category to be screened in Hollywood.
He is hopeful that it will have a good response in Hollywood. Bhuyan is now busy with two of his new stories ‘The True Love’ and ‘Abyakta’. Bhuyan further informed that his film would take part in three more reputed international festivals.
