From Margins to Markets: Positioning Assamese Cinema as an Emerging Investment Hub through Lessons from Malayalam Cinema and Philippine Cinema

The small film industries are usually seen as ‘cultural' but ‘restricted'. This paper paves the way to disagree with that assumption by examining the potentiality of investing in Assamese cinema based on the comparative case study analysis of Malayalam cinema and Philippine cinema. Drawing on the political economics of media, the study will analyze successful decisions impacting the sustainable evolution of small cinemas and their participation in creative economies through the support of production ecosystems, distribution channels and audience development processes. The paper points out that the size of the market is not the only factor of success for an industry: Institutional capital, distribution flexibility (especially by leveraging Over The Top platforms), and strategic penetration of audiences are the other elements that are crucial.
Malayalam cinema proves that regional film industries are viable and are gaining cultural respect and success in the commercial market with their viable production network and high narrative literacy. At the same time, Philippine cinema offers a blueprint for managing structural fragmentation, for putting measures in place to financially protect localized production, and to make the most of global diasporic markets. However, on-ground challenges of critical issues and financial clauses, coupled with the scarcity of exhibition screens and exposure, have narrowed the scope for Assamese cinema, despite its rich historical legacy, nodding to its critical accolades and strategic positioning.
This paper assesses these structural restraints and concludes determining them and proposing an integrated policy and investment planning framework. It spells out detail of actionable Public Private Partnerships, specific incentives for exhibitions and digital distribution systems that can help re-position Assam as a new regional film hub. Overall, this work joins discussions made within the frame of the creative economy in the Global South, plausibly showing how the cinema industry of a less economically active region can become a stable, autonomous economic system through strategic structural intervention.

small film industries, Assamese cinema, Malayalam cinema, Philippine cinema

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