III Smoking Barrels (Netflix): The 2017 anthology directed by Sanjib Dey narrates three stories, centred around socio-political issues across northeast India. The multilingual film features dialogues in English, Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Naga and Manipuri and stars Subrat Dutta, Indraneil Sengupta, Mandakini Goswami, Shiny Gogoi and others
Ishanou (YouTube): Aribam Syam Sharma’s Manipuri film Ishanou was the first film from the northeast to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival, in 1991. The film tells the story of a young housewife named Tampha (Anoubam Kiranmala), who leaves home to follow her spiritual calling and joins the religious matriarchal sect of the Maibis
Aamis (SonyLiv): The Bhaskar Hazarika film starring Lima Das and Arghadeep Baruah premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and earned the Best Director and Best Actress awards at Singapore South Asian International Film Festival. Set in modern-day Guwahati, the film follows a married paediatrician (Das) and a PhD student (Baruah) who bond over their mutual love for meat. But as their tastes grow more adventurous the story takes a grim turn
Pahuna (Netflix): This 2018 film by Pakhi Tyrewala follows three young siblings who are fleeing unrest in their native village in Nepal and have to survive on their own. Pahuna was filmed in Sikkim and was produced by Priyanka Chopra along with her mum Madhu. It stars Anmol Limbu, Ishika Gurung and Manju Chettri
Baandhon (YouTube): Baandhon, by 11-time National Award winning-director Jahnu Barua, opened the feature film section of Indian Panorama at the 43rd International Film Festival of India in 2012. The story follows a married couple, Dandeswar and Hkawni, who arrive in Mumbai in search of their missing grandson Pona after the 26/11 terror attacks
Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai (YouTube): The National Award-winning Assamese film by Jahnu Barua won multiple awards at the Locarno Film Festival. Based on a novel of the same name by Homen Borgohain, the film tells the story of a farmer (Indra Bania), whose land is captured by a zamindar
Axone (Netflix and Amazon Prime): The Nicholas Kharkongor film, starring Sayani Gupta, Vinay Pathak and Lin Laishram, follows a group of Northeastern students In Delhi as they attempt to prepare a fermented Naga delicacy called Axone, sparking conflict in their neighbourhood
Village Rockstars (Netflix): The Assamese coming-of-age film by Rima Das was selected as India’s official entry to the 91st Academy Awards. Set in small-town Assam, the film follows 10-year-old Dhinu, who befriends a group of boys and pursues her dream of starting a band
Khoji (Mubi): Yudhajit Basu and Prithvijoy Ganguly’s short film is set somewhere in the lower Himalayas (possibly near Darjeeling), against the backdrop of the 1980s Gorkhaland Movement. The film explores a geo-political strife and breaks down the struggles of the disenchanted
Bokul (Mubi): Reema Borah’s 2015 film is an intricate story that highlights underlying sentiments towards the marginalised. Bokul is about a man who comes back to his town to attend his sister's wedding. He has to cope with the changes that have developed in his absence as he tries to find his missing music teacher