Assam: Nayanmoni Mura present With ‘Best Artist Award’ At Toronto International Women Film Festival 

Assam’s Nayanmoni Mura has been presented with the ‘Best Youth Artist’ award at Toronto International Women Film Festival 2022, for her pivotal role in Akanshya Bhagabati’s short story “KUMU – The Song of a Wingless Bird”

Nayanmoni Mura, a class 9 student, is from the Dhontula Tea Estate in the Nagaon district of Assam in northeastern India. She was named Best Youth Artist for her role in Akanshya Bhagabati's Assamese short 'KUMU,' which just received the Best Short Film award at the SiGNS Film Festival in Kerala. Akanshya Bhagabati, the film's director and writer, stated that she received a mail from the film festival organizers in Canada, which confirmed the news.

The director also stated that Nayanmoni was overjoyed when she learned that she had been selected as the Best Youth Artist at the Toronto International Women Film Festival 2022. Nayanmoni described the experience as "unbelievable" because she had no idea how to portray the character at first and had no prior acting expertise. She went on to say that when the film's director approached her, she was perplexed and skeptical, given her lack of acting experience. 'I'm really glad I did it,' she remarked.

Set amid the lush green tea gardens of Assam, the short film follows Kumu, a 12-year-old Adivasi girl who was forced to abandon her education due to familial  circumstances

Kumu's journey focuses on how Adivasi children living on tea estates in Assam are denied childhood pleasures and hopes, as well as beauty and parental care, and are even stopped from dreaming of a life beyond their predetermined fate.

It's worth noting that the short film was just named 'Best Short Feature Film' at the prestigious SiGNS Film Festival in Kerala's 15th edition.

Chida Bora did the film's cinematography, and Tarali Sarma, an award-winning vocalist, did the music.