Badhaai Do fame Chum Darang and Radhe actor Sangay Tsheltrim attend maiden International Tribal Film Festival in Dirang

International Tribal Film Festival (ITFF) held in Dirang is organised by the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and supported by the Directorate of Film Festivals, Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Government of India, to showcase films and documentaries dealing with the tribal art and culture.

ITFF, a two-day festival, opened on March 5 and screened movies across different languages by tribal and non-tribal filmmakers at Picturetime’s MDMT theatres. An inflatable mobile theatre company, which has come to be known for harbouring film festivals across India, set up three inflatable theatres and one open-air screen.

ITFF also held panel discussions on the importance of tribal films and the pros and cons of shooting in the Northeast besides much-anticipated opening and closing ceremonies. Filmmakers, both renowned and emerging, interacted with the audience post-screening to take them through the making of their films. The festival’s biggest highlights were a scintillating performance by renowned singer and music composer Joi Barua and an interactive session with the National Award-winning sound designer from the region, Debajit Gayan.

Badhaai Do fame Chum Darang and actor Sangay Tsheltrim of Radhe fame were special guests at the festival and were felicitated. Sharing her thoughts on this one of a kind film festival and on Picturetime’s inflatable theatre, Chum says, “What an incredible initiative. I think we should have more festivals like this to encourage the actors, writers, and filmmakers from the region. This gives us the perfect platform to showcase our talent. I think the concept of inflatable theatres is the next big thing, a total game-changer for sure, making cinema accessible to the interiors of this country.”

Sharing his thoughts on bringing these theatres to Arunachal Pradesh, Sushil Chaudhary, Founder and CEO, Picturetime Digiplex, says, “The idea is to bring world-class films and a fulfilling cinematic experience to regions and interiors of our country where such an experience is still a far fetched dream. We achieve yet another milestone by bringing our theatres to the beautiful and remote valley of Dirang. The International Tribal Film Festival will also be a fantastic platform for upcoming talented filmmakers from the region to interact with their international counterparts.”