Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld News Network
Panaji, Nov 23: A special section ’New Horizons from North-East’ at 46th International Film Festival of India started off with a high-octane performance by Manipuri dance group Laihui. The ceremony was inaugurated by the Festival Director, C. Senthil Rajan along with CEO, Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) Ameya Abhyankar. The section will feature retrospective on the ace Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Shyam Sharma.
IFFI 2015 brings works created by some of the talented young filmmakers from the region’s eight states. The film being screened comprise full-length Feature films, documentaries and short films. Ace filmmakers Aribam Syam Sharma, Manju Borah along with emerging directors M. Maniram and Jadumani Dutta were felicitated by the festival director. CEO Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) felicitated the dance group, Laihui. M. Maniram’s film Xondhikyon opened the section.
Addressing the inaugural press conference, Aribam Syam Sharma, said “North-east cinema has rich values and the industry is celebrating 80 years of existence. I am very thankful to the film festival that a special retrospective of my 14 films is being organized this year. The North-east cinema is growing by leaps and bounds and with international platforms like IFFI, I am confident that more films from the region would reach out to a large audience.”
Filmmaker Manju Borah said, “It is a positive thing that I&B Ministry and DFF are focusing on North-east cinema and has come with a special section at IFFI 2015. The North-east film industry is lagging behind in terms of number of production of films and but with the screening of films in the festival will expose the audience to the culture and ethnic value of the region.”
The emerging filmmakers M. Maniram and Jadumani Dutta shared their experience at the festival and interacted with media and audience. Talking about his film, Maniram said, “It is an honour that my film is opening the special North-east section. The film festival has a wide reach in terms of national and international audience and I see it as a lifetime opportunity for me to showcase my work to diverse audience.”
The 11-day festival will be showcasing a variety of national and international films in different sections.