ITANAGAR, 18 Mar: The Assam Institute of Research for Tribals and Scheduled Castes (AIRTSC), Guwahati, organised a workshop on mobile filmmaking for tribal students on 18 March.
The workshop was part of the National Tribal Film and Literature Festival, 2025, scheduled from 27 to 29 March, supported by the union Tribal Affairs Ministry. The workshop created a scope for indigenous knowledge preservation and dissemination through filmmaking. Many tribal students from the knowledge partner universities of the festival – Assam Down Town University, Girijananda Chowdhury University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati, Gauhati University, and Royal Global University – took part in the mobile filmmaking workshop.
Kulanandini Mahanta, a National Award-winning filmmaker, facilitated the session, sharing insights into visual storytelling and the technical aspects of mobile filmmaking. The workshop provided young tribal students with the opportunity to understand various aspects of mobile filmmaking like framing and composition, art and production design, lighting, camera angle, shot sequence and many such aspects.
Madhu Raghavendra, the festival coordinator of the National Tribal Film and Literature Festival, said, “As a powerful medium, mobile filmmaking can amplify indigenous voices and encourage creative expression, leading to culturally inclusive development conversations.”
The workshop opened with a talk on ‘Culture as a worldview’ by Dr Kaling Dabi, who has extensive experience in documenting cultures, and is a member of the festival committee.
“The workshop aims to empower tribal students by nurturing their storytelling skills through films. I am glad the students are taking such keen interest in learning the craft of making mobile films,” said Binita Pegu, secretary to the Government of Assam and the director of the institute.
