Discoveries from American Samoa World Cinema

Hilarious and outgoing, Brittany Forgler, is everybody’s best friend ― except her own. Her partying, underemployment and toxic relationships are catching up with her. She receives a startling wake-up call when a visit to the doctor reveals how unhealthy she is. Motivated to lose weight, but too broke for a gym and too proud to ask for help, Brit is at a loss, until her neighbor pushes her to run one sweaty block. Soon, she sets an almost unthinkable goal: the New York City Marathon.

Bhoga Khidikee is a 2018 Assamese drama film directed by Jahnu Barua. It was the opening film of 2nd Guwahati International Film Festival. The film is based on the real life experiences of a village girl in upper Assam and is set against the socio-political landscape of the state in 2015

Glimpses of lives from a village in Assam reveal the relationship between its history and the present. People’s lives and beliefs are entangled with ecological strings , as nature stands witness to the narratives that unfolded there. A young boy, Rahul, hopes to write a book on his experience of growing up in this village. His mother, being deeply connected with nature can sense messages and signs arising from nature.. Urmila, a pregnant lady, is driven by sensorial experiences. But, In contrast to the serenity and harmonious living; there lurks a violent societal past.These peaceful and quiet lives intersect in a space where traumatic memories of death and loss in Assam’s thirty years of secessionist movement keep resurfacing.

Rainbow Fields is an Assamese movie starring Dipannita Sharma and Victor Banerjee in prominent roles. The movie also stars Nakul Vaid, Naved Aslam, Nipon Goswami and Panchi Bora. It is a drama directed by Bidyut Kotoky with Anurag Saikia as musician, forming part of the crew.

Sringkhal is a Assamese drama film directed by Prabin Hazarika, based on an Assamese short story by Dr. Bhabendra Nath Saikia of the same name. Based against a rural backdrop, Sringkhal portrays how a widow, Ambika, struggles for survival and brings up her children after her husband passes away. Jaya Seal Ghosh and Badal Das respectively won the Best Actor Female and Best Supporting Actor Male for their performance in this film in Prag Cine Awards 2014.

This is life story of Paigam, an Assmese tribal, who faces a tough life from childhood to old age.

Raag is a 2014 Assamese language drama film, starring Adil Hussain and Zerifa Wahid in the lead roles. The film was directed by Rajni Basumatary and produced by Assam State Film Corporation Limited in association with Manna Films.

Ambika, little Ishu's favourite aunt, has gone missing after the evil village quack has declared her as a witch. Will Ishu get her back

Borosi is a 2014 Assamese Suspense movie based on a story written by politician & former Law Minister of India Dinesh Goswami and directed by Prodyut Kumar Deka and produced by Debashish Goswami under Manjushree Films & Entertainment.

Three characters: a lonely fisherman, a young rickshaw puller and a single mother, all coincidentally named Bokul find their lives connected when a young stranger comes to town.

Assam Film (Fianance and Development) Corporation Limited has produced the film under the banner of J.K Enterprise. “TRP aru…” depicts the story of current trend in broadcasting media's crazy run to enhance their Television Rating Points (TRP). The Script is written by Manimala Mahanta.

Grahan is an Assamese language romantic drama film directed by Tilak Sarma and produced by M.Choudhury under the banner of BMC Media Production, Guwahati. It stars Diganta Hazarika, Farhin Choudhury in the lead roles.The story, written by Bilkis Mazumdar, is based on love and friendship as seen through the eyes of the younger generation.

Abhadra revolves around a roadside Romeo and his misadventures. A menace in his family, he finally finds his true love. Will he be able to win her trust? Abhadra directed by Aman Kumar and produced by Arup Adhikari,Rachana Adhikari under A2 Creations Film & Art.

Two boys in the process of making a Samoan dish.

Jeeya Jurir Xubax is a 2014 Assamese language drama film written and directed by Sanjib Sabhapandit. It was produced by Utpal Kumar Das and features ensemble cast, including Victor Banerjee and Bishnu Kharghoria.

A tired rebel Amrit returns to his village after four years of serving to a losing cause. He tries to pick up where he left off, but he sees people staring at him and stop conversations at his sight, and it troubles him. As he tries to fit back in while making an honest living, he realizes the daily drudgery of life. He doubts if coming back was the right decision. Does Amrit find hope and the courage to overcome it?

Inspector Boro is an incorruptible, no-nonsense cop highly skilled in martial arts who gets suspended for bashing up a well connected gang of traffickers. A Superintendent of Police asks him to unofficially track down a girl named Sabrina Rai who has been missing for four days. While investigating, he learns that someone had taken her from her village to Guwahati city under the pretext of training her for the hospitality industry. While trying to track her down, Inspector Boro finds that her phone is switched off and she is missing from her hostel. He then heads to Guwahati and punches and kicks his way to the uncomfortable truth - Sabrina might have been entangled in a trafficking ring run by a corrupt policeman.

Papori (Assamese: পাপৰী) is a 1986 Indian Assamese language feature film directed by Jahnu Barua. The film stars Gopi Desai, Biju Phukan, Sushil Goswami, Chetana Das and Dulal Roy. The film was released in 1986

Jahnu lives in a remote village by the banks of the river Brahmmaputra in in Assam, Northeast India. The villagers mock him for the femininity that he proudly wears on his body. Jahnu dreams of getting an operation and becoming a woman. Jahnu's sister, Jumu, who has decided to never come out as a queer woman to protect her parent's reputation in the village, worries that Jahnu might also have to live a painful life like her, although both the siblings have never spoken about their struggles aloud. Jahnu and Jumu's elder brother, Baba is extremely unhappy about his gender nonconformist siblings who he thinks have made their family dishonorable in the village. Jahnu's life takes a drastic turn when his romantic relationship with Palash catches attention of the villagers. With Palash refusing to acknowledge the relationship, Jahnu has to decide if he would continue living a life hiding himself or let himself walk forth with his truth.

Pratima, then a kid, is being told the tale of Hastir Kanya, a neglected first wife of a priest who acquires as his second wife the spoil daughter of a wealthy priest. The lonesome first wife weeps by the river that turns salty. Elephants, attracted by the salty water hear her tale of woes and anoint her. She is transformed into an elephant. Young Pratima is mesmerized by this tale. Once, as she and her friends are wandering in the fields, she notices a group of folk performers and ventures to go near them. The maid accompanying them dissuades her. At home, once, as she is learning songs sung during Kartik Puja from the maids, her guardian summons her to the palace. Things are different when she is with Lalji, her father, who encourages her to learn the soulful folk songs from the mahouts.

New action and romantic Assamese film. The film is directed by Rajib Dutta and produced by Barnali Hazarika under the banner of ‘Santoshi Ma Production’. The story, screenplay and dialogues of the film are written by Palash Pawan. The film deals with real life incidents. There are some faces that work for the betterment of society, who are concerned about keeping it neat and clean, but sometimes there also exists some faces, the opposite forces, that are hell–bent on destroying it. How two faces can make a change to society by nullifying all the pollutants of from it is the main theme of ‘The Face’.

Suma Poroxote is an Assamese movie. The movie is directed by Jonmoni Devi khaund and featured Indumouli and Debasmita as lead characters.

About how a man, in the final stages of his life, reflects back on his life through what is happening in the present.He sees how he is adversely affecting his surroundings, his daugher, his daugher in laws... but can he make the change that is demanded of him, and can he, in the process, discover himself come to free others and himself

An Assamese film directed by Kangkan Rajkhowa. Shinyor is the story of a young journalist who, in the process of gathering news, becomes news herself.

Polynesia’s social media superheroes Uce Gang, Johhny Tuivasa-Sheck, Elvis Lopeti, and Torrell Tafa try to solve the puzzles of a Samoan zombie apocalypse

Juri faces several hardships after her husband dies of AIDS. She is thrown out of her in-laws' house. Soon, she returns to her village and gives birth to a baby girl.

Brajen Borah’s Assamese multi-starrer film Mahapurush. It is the last Assamese film to be shot on celluloid and boasts of a stellar cast comprising Brajen Borah, Pranjal Saikia, Dinesh Das, Ashim Baisya, Gayatri Mahanta, Madhurima Kakoty, Chetana Das, Atul Pachani, Dilip Barua, late Pramod Barua and late Hadi Alam Bora in key roles. It had all the commercial ingredients of a successful venture with action, comedy, romance, tragedy and emotion all rolled into one.

Set in Assam's insurgency ridden 90s, Jwlwi- The Seed is a story of hope lost and found through resolute perseverance even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

An Assamese film.

"Kuhkhal" is a masterpiece created by filmmaker Jahnu Barua based on the life and idealism of the great martyr of Assam, Kuhkhal Konwar. Director : Jahnu Barua Editor : Hue-en Barua Cast : Sanjib Sabhapandit, Gary Richardson, Bina Potongia, Dinesh Das, Prithviraj, Rabha, Anup Hazarika, Victor David Sasoon, Sakir Hazarika, Paul Carlin, Philips Bose Released : 1998

Shekhar Kapur`s directorial venture depicts the scenario many years into the future, where the earth`s water supply has run-out and the events and wars that follow as a result.

In rural Assam, India, a girl’s onset of menstruation is celebrated publicly through elaborate rituals symbolising her readiness for childbearing and marriage. But the young Gunati suffers from a disease that obstructs menstruation, placing her in a pitiable, degrading situation. She faces a dilemma, when, despite her condition, a young man proposes marriage. The film poignantly conveys Gunati’s alienation and ostracisation, presenting a woman’s perspective in a strictly patriarchal society.

An elderly couple lives a mundane life in a remote village in Assam.An atmosphere of absence pervades their household. One morning, a young boy comes to sell winter clothes and talks about his home which is three states away. A pleasant breeze signals the subtle change of season and hints towards a solitary time packed with memories of youth.

Mehdi Jahan attempts to depict his mother's interaction with disturbing memories that trigger her panic attacks. In his mother’s memory, private, everyday experience is combined with political events from the history of India: Partition, the Indo-China War, the Assam Movement. She describes her experiences in the form of letters addressed to her mother, the director’s grandmother, who passed away several years ago. These touching messages about family, love, and homeland prove to have a therapeutic effect on the heroine and give her a sense of peace.

This film explores American Sāmoa and the unique legal status of its residents as non-citizen nationals of the United States. It follows two American Samoans who are not U.S. citizens but U.S. nationals.

A documentary inspired by the true life experiences of Assamese trans-man Milin Dutt.

Jaangfai Joonak literally means from the `shadow of silence`. The film has been showcased in the Indian Panorama Film Festival 2012 and is directed by Sanjib Sabhapandit a national award winning filmmaker of Assam. The film focusses on the theme of lost childhood in a manner so as to juxtapose it to the contemporary society we live in. The regional film is being highly acclaimed already for the manner in which it has been shot extensively in digital format before being converted to the celluloid format. A lot of acclaim surrounds this intelligently shot film.