The July edition of Talk Cinema On The Floor (TCOTF) in New Delhi brought filmmakers, screenwriters, and artists together for masterclasses, project pitches, and a short film campaign launch led by NDFF and SACAC.
New Delhi, July 19, 2025 – The New Delhi Film Foundation (NDFF), in collaboration with Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts & Creativity (SACAC) and Media & Entertainment Skills Council (MESC), successfully hosted the July Chapter of its monthly creative forum Talk Cinema On The Floor (TCOTF) at Harmony House, SACAC, New Delhi. The event brought together aspiring and experienced filmmakers, screenwriters, performers, and storytellers from Delhi-NCR.
Spotlight: Bhaskar Hazarika Speaks on Challenges of Regional Cinema
The Spotlight segment featured National Award-winning filmmaker Bhaskar Hazarika, known for his internationally acclaimed Assamese films Kothanodi, Aamis, and Emuthi Puthi. In a candid conversation, Hazarika reflected on the creative and commercial challenges regional filmmakers face. “It’s not easy to make local stories speak a universal language while maintaining quality. That’s the biggest challenge,” he said. He also shared insights on navigating the evolving landscape of storytelling in the age of AI.
Craft & Crew: Turning Thoughts into Screenplays
The Craft & Crew session featured seasoned documentary filmmaker and mentor Dr. Sabiha Farhat, who shared a practical and engaging masterclass on converting a story idea into a screenplay. Using examples from world cinema and Indian films, she explained screenplay structures and the balance between theory and intuition.
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Call for Entries: Make Cinema Campaign Enters Next Phase
NDFF Founder Ashish K Singh officially launched the Call for Entries for the next phase of the Make Cinema campaign — an initiative to produce six short films in six months under the tagline “Small Films, Big Voices.” Films will be rooted in realism and social relevance. Entry opens on July 20 and closes August 5. Preference will be given to participants of TCOTF sessions.
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Take The Floor: Emerging Talents Step into the Spotlight
The interactive segment Take the Floor: The 5-Minute Window featured selected participants showcasing their work or pitching projects. Notable presentations included Kathak dancer & choreographer Annu Rawal’s dance-drama project on Meera Bai, original poetry and songwriting by Nivrutti Khatri, and a short film pitch by Tanvi Tripathi.
The Spirit of Collaboration and Creativity
The event concluded with a networking tea session titled Chit-Chat over Tea & Light Bites, allowing participants and guests to engage in informal dialogue and future collaboration. The program was anchored by Vedika Raj and Priyanshu Kumar, with coordination and production support from Devesh Manjhi, Krish Gupta, and Prashik Meshram.
Director of SACAC, Ms. Daljeet Wadhwa, addressed the audience, reaffirming SACAC’s commitment to creative collaborations. NDFF’s Executive Director (Branding & Marketing) Vaibhav Maitreya emphasized the self-sustainable model of the initiative and Treasurer Mr. Harinder Kumar extended thanks to all guests.
The next chapter of Talk Cinema On The Floor will be announced soon.