Assamese filmmaker Rima Das has won the best director award in the Dublin Film Critics Circle category at the 2019 Dublin International Film Festival for her film Bulbul Can Sing while Aamis by Bhaskar Hazarika, also an Assamese filmmaker, has been selected for the International Narrative Competition at the Tribeca Film Festival in the US.
Rima told The Telegraph in a text message: “I'm delighted to win the Dublin Film Critics Circle Award. It’s amazing that a film based in a small village in Assam is winning hearts in another part of the world. Thanks, Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival, Ireland, for the honour.”
Bulbul Can Sing narrates the story of Bulbul, a teenaged schoolgirl, who grows up in a rural setting in Assam. While she is on the verge of discovering her teen life, a tragedy strikes her best friend. A spirited Bulbul fights her way through love and loss as she figures out who she really is.
The film also got Special Mention from the Generation 14plus International Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany.
Aamis, directed and written by Hazarika and produced by Poonam Deol and Shyam Bora, will have its world premiere at Tribeca’s International Narrative Competition in New York. Tribeca Film Festival 2019, which will begin on April 24 and conclude on May 5, is considered a Mecca for cutting-edge cinema.
The film tells the story of Niri, a married woman, who shares a forbidden passion with Sumon, who introduces her to a world of fresh, wild, meat-based delicacies. But as their unconsummated desire mounts, the two are pushed inexorably towards transgression and taboo.
“It’s a huge boost for the Aamis team and Assamese cinema in general. To be featured in a festival known for introducing new age films to the world is a wonderful validation for the film and we are all feeling great,” Bhaskar told The Telegraph.
In November 2018, Aamis had won the Facebook award which is calculated on audience votes and number of visits to the film at the Film Bazaar’s viewing room.
Aamis had also featured in the 2017 Asian Project Market at Busan.
