State-wise Chronicles, Part II: The Cinemas of the Hills

Chapter sections

3.1 Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram: Collaborative Grassroots

The cinemas of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram have developed outside traditional commercial structures, relying heavily on local film collectives, church networks and community crowdfunding.

Meghalaya: Khasi and Garo Realism

In Meghalaya, directors like Pradip Kurbah and Wanphrang Diengdoh have established a cinema that blends contemporary social critique with Khasi oral folklore.

Pradip Kurbah: His landmark film Ïewduh (2019) explores the human condition within the bustling, claustrophobic lanes of a traditional market in Shillong. Kurbah’s camera moves dynamically through narrow spaces, capturing high-contrast, documentary-style frames that emphasize community bonds.
Wanphrang Diengdoh: His film Lorni - The Flute Boy (2018) utilizes magical realism, combining urban detective tropes with Khasi mythological symbols to examine identity and rapid modernization.
Garo Cinema: Led by filmmakers like Dominic Megam Sangma (director of Ma.Ama, 2018 and Rimdogittanga/Rapture, 2023). Garo filmmakers have embraced a highly collaborative collective model, pooling equipment and volunteer labor to bypass industrial finance bottlenecks.

Nagaland: Visualizing the Margins

Nagaland’s cinematic landscape is characterized by its tribal diversity and strong documentary tradition, recently supported by the Nagaland Film Policy 2024.

Tiakumzuk Aier: Directed Nana: A Tale of Us (2017), which became a landmark as the first fiction feature film from Nagaland to achieve international screening and won Best Film (North East) at the Prag Cine Awards.
Theja Rio: His short films Angh (2021) and Ade (On a Sunday) (2024), both shot on 16mm film stock, examine the complexities of Naga history and village life, with Ade premiering at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).
Technical Constraints: Nagaland lacks formal film schools and production labs. Filmmakers rely on training programs like the EthnoFilm Fellowship to build local capacity, treating documentary shooting as a form of social documentation and political resistance.

Mizoram: Church-Led Cinema

Mizo cinema presents a unique model where the local Presbyterian and Baptist church networks act as the primary funding, distribution and censorship apparatus.

Aesthetic Tone: Films like Robert B. Laldinpuia’s Khawngaihna (Mercy, 2019) are intimate family and social dramas, heavily grounded in Christian ethics and moral narratives.
Distribution: Because Mizoram has had almost no functional commercial cinema halls, films are screened in community halls and parish buildings, creating a highly localized, community-driven exhibition network.
The Cable TV Media Ecology: Alongside church screenings, Mizoram’s film industry is driven by local cable TV monopolies, specifically LPS and Zonet. These networks act as primary producers, licensing distributors and broadcasters. Filmmakers bypass theatrical releases entirely, submitting digital projects for cable-based video-on-demand (VOD) and advertising splits, creating a self-contained, television-first media ecology.

3.2 Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Sikkim: The Emerging Frontiers

Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Sikkim represent the newest frontiers of filmmaking in the Northeast, characterized by extreme linguistic diversity and late technological integration.

Arunachal Pradesh: The Multilingual Tapestry

Arunachal Pradesh has over 26 major tribes and 50 dialects. With no unified regional language, filmmakers must make highly deliberate choices regarding their linguistic medium.

Sange Dorjee Thongdok: Directed Crossing Bridges (2013), the first feature film in the Sherdukpen language, which won the National Film Award.
Aesthetic Approach: Due to the state’s mountainous terrain and scattered populations, theatrical exhibition is practically non-existent. Filmmakers rely on community screenings, portable projection systems and digital platforms to reach audiences.

Tripura: The Kokborok Movement and Language Preservation

In Tripura, the Kokborok language film movement developed as a form of cultural and political resistance against the linguistic dominance of Bengali in education and administration.

Dipak Bhattacharya: Directed Longtharai (1986), which is recognized as the first Kokborok-language feature film, adapted from Bimal Sinha’s novel.
Joseph Pulinthanath: Directed Mathia (The Scapegoat, 2004), which examined the social violence of witch-hunting and Yarwng (Roots, 2008), which won the National Film Award for depicting the mass displacement of tribal communities caused by the construction of the Dumbur dam.
Exhibition Barriers and Activist Distribution: Operating on micro-budgets (under ₹15 lakh) funded by cultural bodies and NGOs, these films face systemic barriers in urban theaters (such as those in Agartala), which prioritize commercial Bengali and Hindi cinema. Consequently, Kokborok cinema relies on mobile projection squads who travel into rural tribal belts to set up screenings in school buildings, parish halls and outdoor clearings, functioning as an active tool for indigenous language preservation.

Sikkim: Ecological and Borderland Narratives

Sikkim’s cinema is deeply influenced by its borderland geography and its status as a fully organic state.

Satyajit Ray: Directed the documentary Sikkim (1971), showcasing the kingdom’s culture before its merger with India. The film faced a decades-long ban before being restored and screened.
Samten Bhutia: Directed Tara: The Lost Star (2024), a Nepali-language social drama selected for market screening at the 2024 Cannes International Film Festival.
Tribeny Rai: Directed Shape of Momo (2026), a highly acclaimed debut feature portraying three generations of Himalayan women, screened at the Busan and San Sebastián international film festivals.
Visual Tone: Wide, panoramic lenses capture the scale of the Kanchenjunga massif, using the natural environment as a silent narrator of geopolitical and environmental change.

3.3 Cinema Learning Context: Micro-Budget Film Economics

For film students, the hill cinemas of the Northeast offer invaluable lessons in micro-budget production economics and alternative distribution models.

For the general reader, creating a scene in Pradip Kurbah’s Ïewduh required shooting inside a functional, chaotic market. The crew had to blend into the crowd, hide microphones under vegetable stalls and cast actual market vendors.

From the filmmaker’s perspective:

Chamber Drama Aesthetics: With limited budgets, filmmakers must learn to write stories that occur in restricted locations. Cinematographers must use fast prime lenses (like a 50mm f/1.8) to shoot wide open. This creates a shallow depth of field, blurring the background to isolate the characters while hiding the lack of expensive production design.
Shooting on 16mm Reversal Film: Theja Rio’s choice to shoot Angh on 16mm film stock brings a distinct, textured grain. This choice requires precise light metering, as film has less exposure latitude than modern digital sensors. The filmmaker must plan every shot to avoid wasting expensive film rolls.