Guwahati: Marking a historic moment for Karbi and Assamese cinema, the London-based UK China Film Colab Distribution Company has acquired the distribution rights for Karbi-language film Kangbo Aloti (The Lost Path) in the United Kingdom (UK) and China.
The Karbi language film made its appearance at the Indian Pavilion during the Cannes film market this month.
The production company, Ruru Rara Entertainment, has collaborated with the UK-China Film Colab Distribution Company, which will bring a Karbi-language film to international audiences for the first time.
UK-China Film Collab acquired the film’s all rights for 2 territories, UK and China (including Hong Kong and Macau SAR).
The announcement was made by director Khanjan Kishore Nath during the 78th Festival International du Film at Cannes, France.
The film centres around Longsing, a young boy who is a member of a local militant group is sent to a remote village to recruit new members. He meets a local schoolteacher who has a very different ideology that is exposed to. There, the conflict begins, so as a journey to discover one’s belief.
“It’s really a great moment for us to work with UK-China Film Collab to explore the film’s distribution. Collaboration like this can definitely help to bring our regional stories to the global audience,” Khanjan Kishore Nath said.
He further noted that this is a significant step not only for Karbi cinema but for Assamese cinema as a whole.
“We are taking our story global. We are grateful for this opportunity to share our culture with a broader audience,” he added.
“Meeting Khanjan at the Indian Pavilion during Marche du Film was a coincidence. His film gave me a new inspiration. There is a large Indian community in the UK, but the voice of Karbi language-speaking people is marginal. Indian films have had some record-breaking successes in China but they were all Bollywood rather independent films. This distribution attempt will pioneer a new model for collaboration between the UK and China, via films from India,” Hiu Man Chan, founder and director of the NGO, stated.
Congratulating the team, chief executive member of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) said: “A momentous occasion for our Karbi Cinema. I extend my warmest congratulations to the entire team behind Kangbo Aloti (The Lost Path) on their historic achievement! Our Karbi-language film is the first to secure theatrical and other distribution rights in the UK and China, thanks to UK China Film Colab. We’re taking our story global.”
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Khanjan Kishore Nath is a national award filmmaker from India. Kangbo Aloti is his third feature film. He pursued his filmmaking studies in Mumbai and has been creating films since 2006.
