Special Representative
GUWAHATI, July 13 2021: The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) has announced the selected projects for the 14th edition of NFDC Screenwriters’ Lab and two filmmakers from the region (Assam) have secured a spot each among the eight selected scripts.
‘An Unreal Story’ by Utpal Borpujari and ‘Gos Kota Manuh’ (The Woodcutter) by Prakash Deka figure in the list selected by the central agency.
National Award-winning film critic-turned-filmmaker Utpal Borpujari took to twitter to express his joy for the selection of his script. “Hugely excited that An Unreal Story, my feature script based on a true incident narrated by Manoj Kr Goswami, has been selected for the prestigious NFDC Film Bazaar Screenwriters’ Lab 2021,” he wrote.
Prakash Deka, who had earlier directed National Award Winning Fireflies (Jonaki Porua), said, “I am delighted to make it to the list as this is my first attempt and my first script to be recognised by the NFDC”.
The scripts selected from other parts of India include – Construction by Akshay Indikar (Marathi), Goonga Pehelwan (The Deaf Wrestler) by Vivek Chaudhary (Haryanvi, Hindi), Mandra Saptak (The Lower Octave) by Kshama Padalkar (Marathi), Notun Gur (A New Sweetness) by Deyali Mukherjee (Bengali), Oranges Smell Like Turpentine by Sasha Singh (Hindi, English) and Rekhtaby by Himadri Parmar (Gujarati)
The Screenwriters’ Lab is a part of the NFDC Labs’ which is an annual programme that aims to develop original and experimental voices and storytelling in India.
The scripts and the participants selected will work closely under the mentorship of the international script and industry experts to fine-tune their work in an intensive 5-month programme. Screenwriters Angeli Macfarlane, Bikas Mishra and Sari Turgeman are the mentors for this year.
Image: Prakash Deka (Left), Utpal Borpujari (Right)