In the course of the more than eight decades that the Assamese cinema has emerged, it has produced a substantial number of films that have gone on to become landmarks as well as films that have established trends; however, I will only discuss about the films that have become landmarks in this article. In my perspective, "landmark" films are those that, as a consequence of the achievements they have attained, have permanently etched themselves into the cinematic landscape of Assam. This mark was left as a result of the films' potential to do something that was hitherto thought to be unattainable. But films like Padum Barua's Ganga Chilonir Pankhi, which marks the beginning of Assamese alternative cinema, or Brajen Baruah's commercially successful Dr. Bezbaruah (1969), which gave birth to new genres, have, in my opinion, set a new trend. These are only a few examples of films that pioneered new ways of presenting stories or introduced ground-breaking ideas to the general audience. Assamese films that are setting new trends will be discussed in more detail later.

Joymoti (1935), directed by Jyotiprasad Agarwala, is considered to be the first film to have a significant impact on Assamese cinema. In addition to being the first Assamese film, it was also the first film to be adapted from Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbaroa's play Joymoti Konwori (1915), and it was the first Assamese film to have premiered outside of Assam, i.e., in Calcutta (20 March, 1935). One of the most pivotal moments in Assamese history is portrayed in the film. Like a historian, filmmaker Jyotiprasad transports viewers to the social and political climate of Ahom-era Assam in the seventeenth century.

The transition from regional to national. recognition of Assamese cinema occurred with Phani Sharma's Piyoli Phukan (1955), the first Assamese film to get the Certificate of Merit at the 3rd National Film Awards. The film was produced by Rupjyoti Production and released by Roop Roshni Distributors. Based on the life of the Assamese martyr Piyoli Phukan, the film graphically illustrates how Piyoli and Gomdhar Konwar conspired to destroy the British colonists. When the British arrived to apprehend Gomdhar, he blew himself up with explosives, killing numerous British soldiers in the process. Despite being physically crippled and on crutches, Piyoli launched an uprising against the British. Consequently, he organised a large armed assault against the British. However, the British detected the scheme, and Piyoli Phukan was caught just before the plan's execution on suspicion of plotting against the British. After a lengthy trial, Piyoli was ultimately convicted of murder and hanged on July 26, 1830.

In the 1950s, the film Puberun (1959), directed by Prabhat Mukherjee and produced by Dr. Khagen Roy and Paji Das under the Kathakali Cine Production label, marked the international debut of Assamese cinema. In addition to winning the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Assamese at the 7th National Film Awards, then known as State Awards for Films, presented by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India, in 1959, Puberun was the first Assamese film and the only Indian entry to be screened in the competition section at the Berlin Film Festival, which took place from June 24 to July 5, 1960. The Spanish film El Lazarillo de Tormes, directed by César Fernández Ardavn, won the Golden Bear, while the famed French director Jean-Luc Godard received the award for Best Director. Even though the Assamese film Puberun did not win any awards at the Berlin Film Festival, the genuine depiction of Meghali by Jnanada Kakoti captivated the hearts of millions of people.  

Puberun, a film set in the hill station of Shillong, explored themes of mortality, dying, and mourning within the context of a mother-child relationship. Arup and Meghali were a happily married couple who tragically lost their son Joon in a car accident, Deep, her orphanage-adopted son, too abandoned her when he was an adult. The film's primary thematic issue is the moving portrayal of Meghali's suffering after the death of her child.

In the 1980s, with the arrival of Jahnu Barua, Assamese cinema made a revolutionary stride forward and established a uniquely Assamese identity with a strong presence in worldwide film circuits. Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai (The Catastrophe, 1987), the first Assamese film to win an international Award, was the epoch-making film that virtually introduced Assamese cinema to the world circuit. The film won the Silver Leopard Award at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland in 1988, while Distant Voices, Still Lives, directed by Terence Davies, and Schmetterlinge, directed by Wolfgang Becker, shared the Golden Leopard. Indra Bania, who portrayed the film's protagonist, Rakheswar Bora, became the first Assamese actor to win an international award- the Silver Leopard Award- for Best Actor, at this festival. In the same festival, Barua's film also earned the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury-Special Mention.
Assamese film continued its worldwide breakthrough with Rima Das' Village Rockstars (2017) This was the first ever Assamese film and the first ever film from the North-Eastern part of India to be submitted to the 91st Academy Awards. In addition to other international awards, the film won the Swarna Kamal for Best Film, Best Child Actor, Best Location Sound Recordist, and Best Editing at the 2018 National Film Awards. Set in the remote village of Chhayagaon in Assam, Village Rockstars is about a little village girl named Dhunu who dreams of owning a real guitar and forming a musical band with her friends, Manabendra, Rinku, Boloram, Bishnu, and Bhaskar. Her group climbs trees, fishes, and walks to school. The film chronicles the lives of ordinary people, detailing their hardships with things like poverty and natural calamities.

Maharshi Tuhin Kashyap's Mur Ghurar Duronto Goti (The Horse From Heaven) is the first Assamese short film to be nominated for an Oscar. The short film won Best Film at the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF). The winners of this festival are eligible for Oscar consideration in the category of short film fiction.
There are two additional films worth mentioning in addition to the ones already listed. Dr. Bhabendra Nath Saikia's film, Agnishnan (The Ordeal), got critical acclaim on the national and international film circuit. The film was screened at the competition

section at the Nantes Three Continents Festival (1986). In the film festival, the Grand Prix was won by the Chinese filmmaker, Yan Xueshu, for his film, In the Wild Mountains (Ye Shan), and the Best Director award was won by the Japanese filmmaker, Shinji Somai, for his film, Taifu Kurabu (Typhoon Club). The film won the Rajat Kamal and Best Screenplay award in 1985. The story centres around a rich businessman named Mahikanta, his loyal wife Menaka, and their four children.

In the 1980s, Gautam Bora, a graduate of the Konrad Wolf Institute in Germany, made the first film in the Karbi language, Wosobipo (1989). The film was the only Indian entry to the 41st Berlin International Film Festival in 1991. This film earned Bora the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film at the 37th National Film Awards. The film Wosobipo, which depicts the lives of tribal farmers in Karbi Anglong, illustrates the danger that socioeconomic developments posed to their way of life. Sarthe, the film's protagonist, recalls his days with his grandfather and how he appreciated the tranquilly of the local river.