Dream On A Budget: Stories Waiting To Be Seen

By Shuktara Goswami

In India’s bustling cinematic landscape, where Bollywood dominates the airwaves and metros serve as epicentres of production, a quieter revolution is underway. It’s happening in small towns, state-run institutes, and on student campuses—especially in the Northeast. Among them, Assam’s emerging filmmakers, particularly young women, are daring to dream. But they do so on a budget, often navigating systemic neglect, financial constraints, and gendered barriers.

As a student filmmaker from Assam, I’ve seen both the richness of our stories and the emptiness of our support systems. Our region teems with culture, folklore, and urgent contemporary narratives. Yet, these stories struggle to find voice due to the lack of infrastructure and investment in the state’s film ecosystem.

While Assam has a proud cinematic history dating back to Jyoti Prasad Agarwala’s Joymoti (1935)—the first Assamese film—sustained development has been stunted. According to a 2020 report by the Film Federation of India, states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana continue to receive the lion’s share of investment and institutional support. Meanwhile, the Northeast remains largely excluded from mainstream production hubs and distribution networks.

In this vacuum, student filmmakers often double as producers, editors, and publicists, driven by nothing but a passion for storytelling. Access to high-quality equipment is rare, editing suites are borrowed or improvised, and mentorship comes sporadically. Even the state’s flagship institute, the Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Regional Government Film and Television Institute (BHRGFTI), while commendable in its mission, faces chronic underfunding and staffing gaps, as reported in various local media sources.

The challenges, however, are not merely logistical—they are also deeply personal. Being a woman in the Indian film industry means carrying the burden of representation while often being denied space in creative and decision-making processes. According to a 2022 study by the Geena Davis Institute and UNESCO, women make up only 10% of directors in Indian cinema, and their narratives remain underrepresented.

But a shift is stirring. Women filmmakers like Payal Kapadia are shattering ceilings. Her film “All We Imagine as Light” won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024, making her the first Indian woman to win the prestigious award. The film—subtle, intimate, and female-driven—disrupts the notion that big budgets are a prerequisite for cinematic success. It is an inspiration to young women across India who are scripting bold, alternative narratives.

Institutions and initiatives are beginning to take note. Film festivals like the Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival and the Guwahati International Film Festival have been instrumental in showcasing regional talent. Meanwhile, national competitions like the WAVES Young Filmmakers Challenge—an initiative by UNESCO MGIEP—offer much-needed visibility and funding to young creatives. These are signs that the tide is slowly turning, even if the current remains difficult to navigate.

Despite all odds, a generation of Assamese filmmakers is persisting. We learn to stretch every rupee, collaborate across disciplines, and find strength in community. We know that we may not have the sleek sets or sprawling production crews of Mumbai or Hyderabad, but we have stories—raw, real, and rooted in place.

Take, for instance, the short documentaries emerging from student filmmakers at St. Anthony’s College, Shillong, or Cotton University, Guwahati. These works capture ecological anxieties, urban transformations, and the unspoken everyday lives of people from the Northeast. They are often made with minimal gear but maximum honesty.

The Indian government has announced several schemes to promote regional cinema, including the National Film Development Corporation’s (NFDC) production fund. However, many of these remain inaccessible to students or require a level of bureaucratic navigation that young filmmakers, especially those from marginalized regions, are not equipped to manage.

What’s needed is not just funding—but faith. Faith in alternative storytelling, in the diversity of language and experience, and in the immense talent bubbling across India’s neglected cultural geographies. States like Assam must be more than just scenic backdrops for Bollywood thrillers—they must be storytellers in their own right.

The way forward is clear: democratize access to filmmaking education, decentralize funding mechanisms, and foster regional film hubs with proper training, distribution, and mentorship models. Doing so would not only empower student filmmakers like myself but also enrich the national cinematic identity with voices that have long been excluded.

In the end, cinema is about imagination. And imagination doesn’t require wealth—it requires will. Assam’s filmmakers have that in abundance. All we ask is for the chance to dream a little louder, even if still on a budget.