Guwahati: The 10th Chalachitram National Film Festival (CNFF-2026) will be held on October 24 and 25 at the Jyoti Chitraban Film Society premises in Kahilipara, Guwahati, featuring more than 45 selected short-duration films.
The two-day festival is expected to bring together film enthusiasts, cine critics, filmmakers and producers from eastern India. The festival aims to provide a platform for films focusing on India’s heritage, culture, civilisation and national themes. Selected films will be honoured with trophies, certificates and cash prizes in the presence of distinguished film personalities and cine-goers.
Organised by Chalachitram, a subsidiary of Vishwa Samvad Kendra-Assam, the festival is conducted under the mentorship of Bharatiya Chitra Sadhna. It was initially launched as the Guwahati Film Festival in 2017 and was renamed the Chalachitram National Film Festival in 2019. Its central theme is ‘Our Heritage, Our Pride’.
The festival covers a wide range of subjects, including Indian heritage, indigenous communities, freedom movement heroes, epics and mythology, national integration, arts and artisans, yoga, meditation and Ayurveda, manuscripts and paintings, traditions and family values, cultural nationalism, women’s empowerment, environment, land and people, tourism, handicrafts and textiles, music, indigenous festivals, traditional sports, monuments and heritage sites, social reformers and pioneers, and Assam’s tea and oil industries.
As part of the pre-festival activities, a film screening programme was recently organised at Nirmal Haloi College in Patacharkuchi, Bajali district. A number of award-winning short films and documentaries selected from last year’s festival were screened for students.
Dr Kaushik Kumar Deka, principal of Nirmal Haloi College, several teachers and former Barama College principal Dr Tiken Das attended the programme. NH College Cine Club convener Rajen Das coordinated the event. Representatives associated with CNFF-2026, including award-winning documentary filmmaker Bibhu Dutta, retired Jyoti Chitraban sound engineer Deepak Dutta and CNFF assistant secretary Dhrubajyoti Deka, were also present.
Another pre-festival screening programme has been scheduled at Nalbari College on October 3.
CNFF has emerged as part of India’s growing circuit of national and regional film festivals, providing opportunities for filmmakers working in short films and documentaries. The festival seeks to use cinema as a medium for highlighting social, cultural and national themes and encouraging emerging filmmakers.
A jury comprising artistes, critics, filmmakers, writers and other professionals will select the award-winning entries. Six awards will be presented in the North East India category, covering Best Short Feature, Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Editing.
Two awards will be presented in the Rest of India category—Best Short Feature and Best Documentary.
VSK Assam secretary Kishor Shivam, CNFF-2026 president Nava Thakuria and secretary Bhagawat Pritam expressed hope that the festival would encourage budding filmmakers to use cinema as a medium for social change, empowerment of underprivileged communities and promoting a sense of national and cultural awareness.
