• Dr. Champa Devi
• Ms. Sharmista Pradhan

Documentary films constitute a broad category of non-fictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purpose of instruction or maintaining a historical record. The social impact that it steers by investing time and resources aims to effectively reach the target audience and hence measure the film’s influence. The word documentary was coined by Scottish documentarian John Grierson in his review of Robert Flaherty's film Moana (1926) and since then Grierson's definition of documentary as "creative treatment of actuality" has gained some acceptance. The initiative of documentary film making in Arunachal Pradesh was taken up by the Department of Information and Public Relation in the 1970s while it was administered as North East Frontier Agency (NEFA). The state started its own documentary filmmaking only in the 1980s until then people were not aware of what documentary film was all about. Renowned documentary filmmakers like Moji Riba, Bindiya Ete Nalo, Apak Gadi, Dr. Kombong Darang, Tanom Jerang, Karry Padu and many others are now there in the state who have put their efforts in making documentaries about various social issues to inform, educate and to create awareness amongst the people. Their documentary films has been able to reach out to niche as well as marginalized audience. Filmmaker Patricia Gooseman observed that “A country without a documentary is a family without a photo album.” The focus of this study is to identify the potential of documentary films as a tool in creating socio-cultural awareness among the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh and the issues affecting their everyday life. Documentaries are a powerful medium for the generation of localized content, specific to the needs, values and lifestyles of the community as few filmmakers of the state have been able to make a remarkable impact on the audience through their documentaries. Further, the study also attempts to gain insight of the various reasons that motivates the documentary filmmakers to showcase the reality of life.

Documentary, Socio-Cultural Change, Tribal Society, Arunachal Pradesh.

"Documentary as an effective tool in creating socio-cultural awareness among the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh: A study", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 9, page no.f205-f214, September-2024, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2409553.pdf

"Documentary as an effective tool in creating socio-cultural awareness among the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh: A study", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 9, page no. ppf205-f214, September-2024, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2409553.pdf