Meghalaya government has unveiled the draft Meghalaya Film Tourism Policy, 2025 to harness the potential of the creative economy and promote the State as a premier film tourism destination.
The announcement was made at a special gathering of filmmakers, content creators, and media stakeholders by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh on Tuesday.
The government has invited feedback on the policy, made available on the Meghalaya One portal, until June 20.
Aligned with Meghalaya’s Vision 2032 to become a $16 billion economy, policy aims to showcase the state’s natural beauty, heritage and culture to national and international filmmakers, to empower local filmmakers, artists, and storytellers by providing infrastructure, upskilling opportunities, and visibility and to create a competitive and filmmaker-friendly environment with financial incentives, institutional support, and streamlined facilitation.
The policy offers financial incentives of up to Rs 1.5 crores for films in major Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Marathi, special grants and subsidies for productions that highlight Meghalaya’s heritage, culture, and tourism, support for local content creators, including training and upskilling programs, incentives for films premiering on Hello Meghalaya, the State’s official OTT platform, with added promotional and visibility support and encouragement of private investment to establish studios, labs, and post-production infrastructure.
The Chief Minister said the government hopes to come up with a robust policy after the feedback. He also proposed establishment of a Film Institute in Meghalaya and ensuring film festivals are rotated across districts of the state.
National Award-winning filmmaker Pradip Kurbah remarked, “These steps are more than just government policies. They are laying the foundation for a sustainable film culture in Meghalaya. For many of us, this is the first time we truly feel there’s a space for our stories here at home.”
He encouraged young filmmakers to stay authentic: “Don’t rush to follow trends. Stay true to your stories, and more importantly, stay true to your heart. Real cinema is about emotion, honesty, and human connection.”
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister disbursed grants to filmmakers under Hello Meghalaya at the State Convention Centre.
The grant is based on four categories- A, B, C and D. Under Category A, six nominated filmmakers received up to Rs 35 lakhs to produce one feature film within a calendar year. Under Category B, 18 filmmakers received Rs 25 lakhs for feature films, while under Category C, four filmmakers received Rs 20 lakhs for web series, disbursed per episode, with a minimum of 10 episodes, each 30-40 minutes. Under Category D, 19 filmmakers, emerging filmmakers from Meghalaya, received Rs 5 lakhs to create short films.
The event featured a screening of the film, Ha Lyngkha Bneng (The Elysian Field) that won the Best Film at the 47th Moscow International Film Festival.
The filmmaking exchange programme between Meghalaya Tourism in collaboration with Film and Television Institute (FTI), Arunachal Pradesh was also announced wherein award-winning filmmaker Dominic Sangma will conduct masterclass sessions that would strengthen regional collaboration in the creative arts. The exchange programme will feature 30 students – 15 students from Meghalaya and 15 students from Arunachal Pradesh.
The event culminated with a road show which aims to feature movies, content, promotional activities, and awareness on topics and issues that will be displayed in various locations across different districts of the State for 30 days.
