The cinema of North East India is as diverse as the region itself. Jyoti Prasad Agaerwal’sJoymoti was the first Assamese movie released in the year 1935 and since then, it has produced numerous movies which won accolades and awards at various stages. Here is a list of five movies from North East India you should watch:

Crossing Bridges (2013)

Crossing Bridges was directed by SangeDorjeeThongdok. It is the first feature film ever to be made in the language of Shertukpen, which is an indigenous dialect native to the state Arunachal Pradesh of North East.  

SangeDorjeeThongdok, a graduate in direction from the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute of India, made Crossing Bridges in the year 2013. The movie was in his native language, Shertukpen. The movie follows the story ofTashi, who after eight years returns to his village in Arunachal Pradesh. He has lost his job in the city, and he rediscovers his home and a way of life that he always tried to avoid. The movie is about finding your true roots.

Village Rockstars (2017)

Village Rockstars is an Assamese movie directed by Rima Das. This coming of age drama movie was selected as India's official entry to the 91st Academy Awards. 

Director Rima Das calls Village Rockstars a tribute to the people and place she hails from.The story follows a 10-year-old girl Dhunuwho befriends a group of boys and dreams of becoming a rock star. Shot entirely in guerilla style of filmmaking, the movie didn’t feature professional actors but the director picked up real people from villages with no experience in acting before. The movie got rave reviews when released and was sent for the Oscars as India’s official entry. A must watch!

Aamis (2019)

Aamis created stir when released because of its unusual story. One of the most critically acclaimed movies from the North East, it was directed by Bhaskar Hazarika and stars debutants ArghadeepBorua and Lima Das in lead roles. 

The movie is a dark tale of an irresistibly insane romance told in the most unusual way one can imagine. Famous Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap liked the movie so much that he presented the movie and it gave the movie an extra push and gathered curiosity of the cinema lovers. Aamis means ‘meat’ in Assamese and it tells the story of two people who gets closer because of their love for meat and the twist in the movie is crazily insane. Watch it and it’s for sure you have never seen anything like this in Indian cinema before.

The Head Hunter (2015)

Nilanjan Dutta, a graduate in film editing from the Film & Television Institute of India, made his debut in the Wancho language.

The Film “The Head Hunter” brings forth a relevant question about the creation of a homogenous culture of existence and morality. It is a story about an old tribal man from a forgotten tribe of India, who dwells in a forest as ancient as him. Fierce and warrior like, rugged and wrinkled, he belongs to the North Eastern tribe of India called the `Wancho tribe,’ dreaded for their practice of head hunting.This movie is an exploration of loss of identity, alienation, lopsided development and an encounter with one’s own past.

Orong (2014)

Orong is made inRabha language, a tribal language from Assam. The movie was directed by Suraj Kumar Duwarah, a graduate of JyotiChitraban Film and Television Institute in Guwahati, he worked as a cinematographer before becoming a filmmaker. The moviefollows the story of a 14 year-old boy named Rasong who lives with his step-father, mother and younger brother in a small village in Assam. He has to leave his school to work at a diesel pump because he belonged to a poor family. The pump site is located deep inside the forest; he is distressed by isolation and faces a few unfamiliar circumstances. The film tries to describe the life and issues of an ethnic group who are the sons of the soil of Assam