Craft over novelty: Why NE films are breaking through internationally

Kolkata: Manipuri movie Boong’s historic win came only a day after Assam’s Rima Das's “Not A Hero” was honoured with a Crystal Bear ‘Special Mention’ at the Berlin Film Festival. This recognition has sparked conversation about a shift in the global acceptance of northeast Indian cinema — one powered by craft rather than novelty: tighter writing, more assured direction, and emotionally exact performances that resonate without relying on spectacle.These films are being noticed for how firmly they’re grounded in specific languages, landscapes, and lived experience, where authenticity—not exoticism—lets local detail read as universal. Improved technical finish and broader access to tools, training, festivals, and streaming have also lowered gatekeeping, making it easier for the work to compete internationally.International visibility for the region is not new. Assamese cinema drew early global notice when Jahnu Barua’s “Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai” won the Silver Leopard at the 1988 Locarno International Film Festival.

Manipur followed when Aribam Syam Sharma’s “Ishanou” was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. In subsequent years, filmmakers from across the northeast appeared more regularly on the festival circuit, including Manipur’s Haobam Paban Kumar, Meghalaya’s Pradip Kurbah, Wanphrang Diengdoh and Dominic Sangma, Arunachal Pradesh’s Sange Dorjee Thongdok, Nagaland’s Tiakumzuk Aier, Sikkim’s Tribeny Rai and Assam’s Rima Das, Bhaskar Hazarika and Jaicheng Jai Dohutia.

Films and documentaries such as “Boong”, “Not A Hero”, “Shape of Momo”, “Ha Lyngkha Bneng”, “Bokshi”, “Rimdogittanga”, “Loktak Lairembee”, “AFSPA, 1958”, and “Joseph’s Son” are being noticed for their rootedness in specific languages, landscapes, and lived realities. The appeal, as the argument goes, is that authenticity — not exoticism — allows local detail to read as universal. Better technical finish and wider access to tools, film school training, exposure to festivals, and streaming have also reduced gatekeeping, helping these films compete on international platforms.The stories themselves often engage insurgency, marginalization, folklore, and the friction between tradition and modernity. A recurring trend is the use of local, often non-professional actors and authentic dialects, which can feel fresh to global audiences seeking distinctive narratives. The northeast is also drawing filmmakers from outside the region. Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan’s “Nocturnes”, set in the dense forests of Arunachal Pradesh and focused on the world of moths, won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Craft at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.Das links the recognition to “authentic, rooted storytelling”. “For many years, the region’s stories were underrepresented, but filmmakers are now telling deeply personal narratives that are culturally specific yet emotionally universal. When stories are honest and sincere, they naturally connect with audiences beyond geographical boundaries,” Das said. She also points to a new generation working with limited resources but high conviction.

“The emphasis is not on scale or spectacle, but on sincerity and truth in storytelling. That honesty creates an emotional connection, and it is this authenticity that resonates so strongly with global audiences,” Das added.Manipuri director Haobam Paban Kumar, known for “Loktak Lairembee”, “AFSPA, 1958”, and “Joseph’s Son”, attributes the rise to multiple factors, including improved access to technology, film education, and an audience increasingly open to different kinds of stories.

Khasi filmmaker Pradip Kurbah, whose “Ha Lyngkha Bneng” (“The Elysian Field”) won Best Film, Best Director, and the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film at the 47th Moscow International Film Festival, similarly credits honest, culturally grounded work with a distinct voice.

“These films are not trying to copy anyone. They carry a strong, original voice, and that connects well with international festivals and audiences.

A recognition at home is more complex. In many parts of the country, there is still limited exposure to stories from the Northeast. It is not always about rejection, but sometimes about unfamiliarity,” Kurbah said.Premendra Mazumder, vice president of the Federation of Film Societies of India, explains the shift as a conscious move away from mainstream Indian cinema’s dominant structures. “They are doing it in a very minimalist way using their own people, landscape, and politics as unique narrative space,” Mazumder explained.

At the same time, a more festival-ready approach matters: cleaner sound, stronger cinematography, disciplined editing, and post-production that meets international expectations, so selection committees can focus on the film rather than technical unevenness.

Yet access remains difficult for independent filmmakers in India. Many struggle to reach programmers or co-producers who can position a film globally.

Even being considered for awards requires the film to be watched and nominated. Filmmakers often feel they lack the representation needed to get global festival authorities to view their work. Entry fees can also be prohibitive for low-budget projects funded largely through personal resources.Kumar suggests the northeast has partially mitigated this through film-school-trained professionals and community networks that understand labs and markets.

“When filmmakers in the community come across a strong film and have contacts with international festival programmers, they personally request them to watch it. This camaraderie within the filmmaking community has been making a difference,” Kumar said.Sikkimese filmmaker Tribeny Geeta Rai’s Nepali-language debut “Shape of Momo”, which won the Taipei Film Commission Award and the Songwon Vision Award at the 2025 Busan International Film Festival, notes that top-tier European festivals still remain hard to crack.

“One major factor behind this absence is that these festivals often give preference to films with European co-producers or those that have received grants from them.

Even in film markets, many filmmakers are actively looking for European co-production opportunities. But this also applies to all the independent filmmakers,” Rai said.Bollywood’s role is also being debated. “Boong” is produced by Excel Entertainment, Chalkboard Entertainment, and Suitable Picture. Kurbah sees value in the attention but draws a boundary around what has actually driven the international rise. “Bollywood’s interest will help in bringing more visibility. Bollywood is making people curious about our region, our stories and our talent. It can open doors and start conversations.

But the global recognition of films from the northeast has mostly come from the steady work of our own filmmakers. The real strength lies in that authenticity, not just in outside attention,” Kurbah explained.