Assam filmmaker Harsyajit Kumar Goyary named Asian Film Academy Fellow in Busan

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaAugust 23, 2025

Harsyajit Kumar Goyary, a young filmmaker from Assam, has been selected as one of the 24 Asian Fellows at the prestigious Asian Film Academy (AFA), held during the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in South Korea.

Representing India along with two other participants, Goyary will take part in the academy’s intensive 20-day filmmaking programme, which provides hands-on training, mentorship from acclaimed directors, and opportunities to work closely with international film professionals. He will lead the sound department in the production of four short films during the programme.

A postgraduate in Sound Recording and Design from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, Goyary has previously been awarded the India Connect Research Fellowship by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He works as a sound designer and re-recording mixer while also producing and directing independent films that highlight the culture, struggles and resilience of indigenous communities in Northeast India.

His recent works include the Nyishi-language fantasy film Sangi-Gai (2023), which was screened at the Marché Du Film during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival after being selected by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), as well as at the Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival in 2023. He was the sound recordist in Rima Das’s Village Rockstar 2 (2024), which won the Kim Jiseok Award at BIFF 2024, as well as Tora’s Husband (2022), which was officially selected for both the Toronto International Film Festival and BIFF in 2023.

Goyary also worked on Kshitij Joshi’s short film Dhekun (2023), which premiered internationally at the Jio MAMI Film Festival, and Bishal Swargiary’s Mother’s Affection (2024), which won the Best Cinematography Award at the Baripada Indigenous Short Film Festival.

Through his body of work, Goyary continues to use cinema as a platform to bring indigenous voices and stories from Northeast India to international audiences.