Filmmaker Dr Bobby Sarma Baruah has been named a member of the NETPAC jury for the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, joining an international panel entrusted with evaluating cinema from the Asia-Pacific region.
Baruah is part of the three-member jury alongside Ed Lejano, artistic director of the QCinema International Film Festival, and Asel Sherniyazova, co-founder and managing director of the Asian World Film Festival.
NETPAC, or the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema, is an international organisation founded in 1990 to discover, recognise and promote Asian and Asia-Pacific cinema.
“Being part of the NETPAC jury at the Venice International Film Festival is an honour and an enriching experience. It has given me the opportunity to watch and engage closely with films from different countries, cultures and cinematic traditions across Asia. As one of the three jury members, I look forward to exchanging perspectives and contributing to the recognition and promotion of significant Asian cinema,” Baruah said from Venice.
A National Award-winning filmmaker, producer, scriptwriter and film researcher from Assam, Dr Bobby Sarma Baruah is known for films rooted in social realities and distinctive cultural landscapes. Her films ‘Adomya’, ‘Sonar Baran Pakhi’, ‘Mishing’ and ‘Sikaisal’ have received Silver Lotus honours at the National Film Awards, while her latest film, ‘Rador Pakhi’, was featured in the Indian Panorama section of the 55th International Film Festival of India.
As a NETPAC jury member, Baruah will watch and evaluate the selected films with the other members of the panel, with the deliberations examining their cinematic, thematic and cultural qualities. Her selection places her alongside international film professionals responsible for assessing films from across the Asia-Pacific region.
Baruah has also served on juries at several national and international film festivals, including the National Film Awards, IFFI, the Jeonju International Film Festival, MIFF and IFFK, and is a member of NETPAC.
The Venice International Film Festival, established in 1932, is the world’s oldest film festival and remains one of the most influential platforms for international cinema. Its annual editions bring together filmmakers, actors, critics and cinema professionals from around the world.
For Baruah, the jury assignment offers an opportunity to closely experience contemporary Asian filmmaking and participate in conversations about cinema at a major international festival.
Her appointment to the NETPAC jury marks another important international engagement in her career as a filmmaker and film researcher.
