Indian regional cinema should be made more accessible to the international audience, Hungarian film scholar Gyorgyi Vajdovich said on Friday.
It is difficult to access Indian regional cinema and the authorities can constitute a board through which regional films can be accessed by the international audience, she said.
Vajdovich was speaking 'Is there a Regional in films?' at the Open Session held on the second day of the Guwahati International Film Festival (GIFF) here.
"Regional art house cinema, which is not the same as Bollywood or popular cinema, should be given more focus as it can cater to different markets and viewers," she said.
Regionality is linked to art house cinema in India but it is not the case in European cinema where it is strongly linked to history and society, said Vajdovich.
Vietnamese filmmaker Lyong Dinh Dong said his country went through a very difficult period of war and transformation but it has an unique culture which they seek to preserve through films.
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"India has a very vibrant film culture and a very strong audience base which we lack. But we will continue to make films to showcase our culture, society and values," he added.
As filmmakers, they seek more government support and international collaborations in filmmaking, he said adding, "Joint international ventures and festivals will help us to go forward with our film projects".
Manipuri filmmaker H Paban Kumar said the real Indian cinema comes from the states of Kerala, Karnataka, West Bengal and Assam where the essence of respective cultures are portrayed.
He said there are a very few theatres in his state but independent filmmakers are making popular films and around 60 films are released in a year.
Regional cinema reflects local issues and are rooted to local ethos and cultural traditions, he added.
Film scholar Raghavendra, who moderated the session, said the language of cinema may be universal but regional cinema emphasises on ethnic and cultural differences.
"Indian art house cinema began in the regional and is basically rooted in local issues but may have international acceptance", he added.