The 6th Hill Film Festival is thrilled to announce its distinguished jury panel for this year’s edition, set to take place from December 26–28 in Rangamati and January 2–4 in Dhaka.
The jury for this year’s competition includes:
Eranda Mahagamage (Sri Lanka)
Eranda Mahagamage is a multifaceted Sri Lankan artist who seamlessly navigates the roles of filmmaker, author, researcher, blogger, and film and visual art critic. His contributions to cinema and philosophy, spanning Sri Lanka and India, have significantly enriched cinematic and intellectual discourse. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in cinema at Istanbul Medeniyet University, Turkey, he is also a lecturer in cinema and aesthetics at various universities.
Mahagamage’s directorial work is distinguished by impactful storytelling and profound insights. His 2015 short films, Once Upon a Time with Cowboys and Living without Life, received critical acclaim, with the latter earning a Jury Mention at the SAARC Film Festival. Other notable works include Digital Womb and documentaries such as A Rapid Story (2015), Koralawella (2015), Anuradhapura Heritage (2016), 3 Notes: A Dance and Community Building Project in Sri Lanka (2020), and Life Beyond the Embers: Kilinochchi (2021), created in collaboration with GIZ.
His recent projects highlight his global outlook and commitment to social themes. The international documentary Song from the Black Sea (2023) explores women’s lives in Turkey, while the short film Belirsiz Nefes (2023), created for YTB- Turkey, examines the impact of earthquakes. His production credits include Her, Him, and Other (2018).
He received his education from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, as well as Maynooth University, Ireland. Mahagamage has received numerous international awards, including recognition at film festivals in (Peace Film Festival) Las Vegas and (REAL TO REEL) Los Angeles. He actively fosters cultural exchange as a curator, moderator, and jury member at film festivals, including the Bangladesh Open Film Festival (2016), Jaffna International Cinema Festival (2022), and ISSFF International Students’ Short Film Festival, Istanbul (2024). Eranda Mahagamage’s deep intellectual pursuits and narrative artistry continue to leave an indelible mark on global cinema.
Subhajit Chatterjee (India)
Subhajit Chatterjee obtained his postgraduate degree in Film Studies from Jadavpur University, Kolkata and completed Doctoral research at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore. He is currently Assistant Professor at the Department of Film Studies, Jadavpur University His areas of teaching and research interest include film history and melodrama, Bengali cinema, exploitation genres and alternative film cultures in South Asia. He has published essays in academic journals such as Journal of the Moving Image, South Asian Journal, Marg, Positions: Asia Critique, South Asian History and Culture.
Kabita Chakma (Bangladesh)
Kabita Chakmai s an architect, a writer, and a researcher. She is a tri-lingual writer writing in Bangla, English and her native language, Chakma. Kabita’s research interests include the history, literature, art, architecture, environmental sustainability, human rights, rights of women’s and children of disadvantaged communities, particularly Indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh. Her research interest also include cinema. Some of her writings about Indigenous Cinema of Bangladesh are published in the books, ‘Histories Indigenous: Antologia (2024), ‘Gairing (Bihu Chankran Bishu Boisu Sangria Bijhu sankalan 2024), ’South Asian Filmscapes: Transregional Encounters (2020)’, ‘Sovereign Words: Indigenous Art, Curation and Criticism (2018)’ .