Guwahati: Dreams of a Forgotten Past, a documentary on the history and decline of Guwahati’s traditional single-screen cinema halls, has been selected for screening in the non-competition section of the 18th International Documentary & Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK).
Directed by Kalpajyoti Bhuyan and produced by Dr Zabeen Ahmed, Dr Muktismaan Hazarika and Himjyoti Talukdar, the documentary was made under the Altaf Mazid Youth Documentary Fellowship 2024-25.
The film explores the rise and decline of Guwahati’s single-screen cinemas, while also revisiting the memories and cultural significance of the spaces that once formed an important part of the city’s film-going culture.
It features perspectives from cultural and film personalities including Nayan Prasad, Utpal Borpujari, Siddharth Goenka, Mridula Baruah and Chinmoy Sharma, as well as former and current staff members of the city’s iconic cinema halls.
Bhuyan said the film gave him an opportunity to revisit the history of the cinema halls where he grew up watching films.
“It was a privilege to re-engage with the historical lineage of the cinema halls in which I grew up watching films, a foundational context that remains lamentably overlooked within our current critical frameworks,” he said in a social media post announcing the selection.
“Hope that this documentary will fill that gap and save a chapter of our past for the generations to come,” he added.
The 18th IDSFFK, organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala, will be held in Thiruvananthapuram from September 25 to 30.
Other Assamese films selected for the festival include Mode of Revival by Manoj Barpujari in the non-competition documentary section, and The Khamyang Story by Samujjal Kashyap and Where Did Our River Flow To? by Biswajeet Das in the competition section.
Greater One Horned Rhino by Akanksha Sood Singh has also been selected for the non-competition section, while Mrinal Deka’s Hindi short film Beep will compete in the short film category.
IDSFFK is an international festival dedicated exclusively to documentaries and short films and is organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.
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