New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS): The 2014 Manipuri feature "Pallepfam" will kick off the second edition of "Fragrances from the North East", a three-day festival of cinema from the northeast, here from August 21 to 23.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore will inaugurate the festival on August 21, according to an official statement from the Manipur government.

"Pallepfam" is the debut film of Manipuri filmmaker Wanglen Khundongbam, who has both directed and produced it.

The inaugural screening will be preceded by three cultural shows from the Hojagiri dance troupe from Tripura, Dhol Pung Cholam dance troupe from Manipur and The Girish and Chronicles, a hard rock band from Sikkim.

The festival will also have a retrospective of Manipuri movie maestro Aribam Syam Sharma.

Six of his films, including two feature films -- India's first Grand Prix of Nantes-winning film "Imagi Ningthem" (1981) and "Ishanou" (1990), the official selection of Cannes in 1991 -- and four non-feature films, "Orchids of Manipur", "The Deer on the Lake", "Indigenous Games of Manipur" and "Yelhou Jagoi" will be screened in the retrospective.

"There will be a special interaction with Aribyam Syam Sharma on August 22," festival curator Utpal Borpujari told IANS.

"Given the overwhelming response to the first edition of the festival last year, we have tried to present an eclectic collection of films this year," he said.

Assamese filmmaker Manju Borah's Mising film "Ko:Yad" will also be showcased.

Tribeny Rai's films from Sikkim, "Yathawat" and "Last Rites from Sikkim", will be among the films screened.

Kokborok film "Maithya", directed by Joseph Pulinthanath, and Sherdukpen film "Crossing Bridges" by Sanga Dorjee Thongdok will give glimpses of Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh, respectively.

A bouquet of shorts from Meghalaya -- "Karyukai" and "Rong Kuchak" -- directed by Domnic Sangma, and from Nagaland -- "The Honey Hunter And The Maker" directed by Tiainla Jamir and "Story of a House" directed by Sesino Yhoshu and Sophy Lasuh -- will also be screened.

The festival will end on Sunday with the screening of Hindi film "Aisa Yeh Jahaan" (2015), written and directed by Biswajeet Bora from Assam and produced by Maya Kholie from Arunachal Pradesh.

To add northeastern flavour, the film screenings will be supplemented by cultural programmes, exhibitions of handicraft and books, and food stalls among other programmes.