GUWAHATI, Nov 4 - Films are a very powerful medium, due to which treatment is always a matter of concern. If the content of a film is universal then it will get a wide market space, said internationally acclaimed filmmaker Rima Das at an open session at the Guwahati International Film Festival on the topic �Marketing Indie Films: From Regional to International Co-production�.
On the recent films produced in this region, she said in many cases films of the North East have very good stories but lack proper treatment. She urged budding filmmakers of the region to continue making films. �Now many platforms are available for a filmmaker to reach out to the audience. I think it is the best time to promote a film and to reach out to the target audience,� she said.
The national award-winning filmmaker also opined that a filmmaker should become the first audience of his/her own creation. Today her third film Bulbul can sing was screened at the GIFF. �Before starting to make a film, think yourself whether you need to tell the story or not. Moreover, a filmmaker should keep working without worrying about failure or success,� she added.
Another filmmaker from Assam Rajni Basumatary, who was also a panellist at the session, said while sharing her experience, �Lack of cinema halls was a great challenge that I had faced when I started my career. So I started the mobile screening of films. Some local film clubs also have helped me a lot. I find social media a very excellent medium to promote a film.�
She said social media is also very helpful for those who make short films. YouTube also has become a source of income for such filmmakers across the world. �I think it is indeed a very good time for us. We have many options to promote and market our films,� she stated. She also asserted that filmmakers should help each other in the greater interest of the art. A filmmaker should also be intelligent enough to choose the right path in making a film.
Another panellist Anupama Bose opined that a filmmaker should also be an entrepreneur and to get success in the profession one ought to travel a lot to meet different people. She said social media hype is very useful for a filmmaker to promote a film and every filmmaker should tell the story in his or her own way.
Producer Jani Biswanath said social media is a good platform to reach out to younger audiences. The session was moderated by Shyam Bora.
