The 10th Chalachitram National Film Festival (CNFF) is set to take place in Guwahati on October 24 and 25, 2026. Organised by Chalachitram, a subsidiary of Vishwa Samvad Kendra (VSK), Assam, the festival will be held at the Jyoti Chitraban Film Society premises in Kahilipara. The event aims to bring together filmmakers, critics, and cinema enthusiasts from across eastern India. Our Heritage Our Pride is the central theme of the festival, which will showcase short films centered on nationalism, Indian civilisation, culture, and heritage.
Selected entries will be honoured with trophies, certificates, and cash prizes in the presence of film personalities and cinephiles. The festival was launched in 2017 as the Guwahati Film Festival and was later renamed the Chalachitram National Film Festival in 2019. It is conducted under the mentorship of Bharatiya Chitra Sadhna.
The festival will feature award-winning films selected by a jury comprising artistes, critics, filmmakers, writers, and other professionals. In the North East India category, awards will be presented for Best Short Feature, Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. The All India category will include awards for Best Short Feature and Best Documentary.
The competition is open to both professional and first-time filmmakers, with entries required to have a duration of between one and 25 minutes and produced between September 1, 2025, and September 1, 2026. The organisers have announced three submission windows, with early bird entries from June 10 to 30 being free of charge, while regular submissions from July 1 to 20 will carry an entry fee of Rs 500, and late submissions from July 20 to September 2 will require a fee of Rs 1,000. Films can be submitted directly to the CNFF office via email or through FilmFreeway.
The festival has become part of a growing network of film festivals across India, alongside events such as the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival and the Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival. The previous edition of the festival featured over 30 short films and documentaries, exploring themes such as ageing and loneliness, death and mortality, family relationships, and environmental concerns. The closing ceremony of the ninth edition was attended by the then Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly, Biswajit Daimary, along with filmmakers and other dignitaries.
The organisers hope that the festival will encourage emerging filmmakers to use cinema as a medium for social change, support underprivileged communities, and promote patriotism.
