Life's First Lessons(2024)

Storyline

A fisherman in a remote village is dealing with loss. He finds comfort by teaching three boys who live on the streets. Their new friendship faces pressure from religious conflict and a tragedy, which ends up changing their whole community.

“A village's wounds heal through an unlikely classroom.”

Vibe & Tags

Cast & Crew

Trivia

• The film was shot entirely on location in a real Assamese fishing village to capture authentic local life.
• Director Prasanta Kalita cast non-professional child actors from the region for the three street boy roles.
• The movie's original Assamese title, 'Mati', translates to 'Earth' or 'Soil' in English, reflecting its grounded story.
• It was independently produced with a small budget and premiered at a film festival in Guwahati before its wider release.
• Several scenes feature traditional Bihu folk music, performed by local artists from the village.
• The script was partly inspired by real community-led education initiatives in rural Assam.
• The film uses the local Assamese dialect for most dialogue, with subtitles provided for Hindi audiences.