A quiet yet impactful wave emerges from the paddy fields of Manipur. Two films, a full-length feature Phouoibee (The Goddess of Paddy) directed by Rakesh Moirangthem, and a short film The Silent Performer by Dr. Rakesh Huidrom, have been officially selected at the 31st Kolkata International Film Festival 2025.
For Manipuri cinema, this is more than a selection at a festival. It is a historical and noteworthy achievement. The Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) is one of the most esteemed spaces for cinema in India, accredited by FIAPF under the category International Competitive Specialized Feature Film Festivals. Holding the 31st edition from November 6 to 13, 2025, at Nandan, Kolkata, this festival will bring together selections of films from a myriad of countries, showcasing diversity in artistic depth, storytelling experimentation, and cultural specificities. In comparison, for Manipur the narrative is another story entirely.
Manipur generates an impressive annual volume of cinema, a visible expression of the state’s love of cinema. However, they are all made for mass consumption, largely family dramas or social fables depicting the realities of life locally as well as being commercially viable. In a small and under-resourced film industry, profitability commonly outweighs any need for creative innovation; filmmakers must recoup their investment and the story becomes secondary to living.
As a result, the announcement of Manipuri films being shown at KIFF is both encouraging and significant. It indicates an apparent desire to escape from purely popular narratives into a wider and more critical art-house context. However, this raises an important question: What makes a film truly worthy of such recognition in such festivals?
A good film, as critics are often keen to argue, is about much more than technical skill (though technical skill is certainly required). It is a mix of emotional truth, embodied in visual rhythm, perhaps taking our perceptions to new heights and keeping us thinking after the screen fades to black. It is this mix of craft and conviction that we can think of when we think of any film that stands the test of time. And perhaps that is what Manipuri filmmakers are starting to think about with intention. A handful each are on separate journeys pursuing this line of thinking. And now new filmmakers are coming into this fold.
In this article, then, I seek to share how young directors Rakesh Moirangthem and Dr. Rakesh Huidrom are both working within this cinematic language, one that speaks to the heart of their local communities and to the world.
The Journey of “Phouoibee” & “Silent Performer”
For Rakesh Moirangthem, cinema has always been a lived experience. His journey began in 2004 right after higher secondary education. Since that time, he has worked as a video editor on over fifteen films, and as the editor-director on three feature-length commercial films. His earlier films, Langla Langjin, Echangi Laidhee and Nurei, are commercial films, and he has three films waiting for release. But, in the background of commercial work, there was a quiet artist looking for a story involving a truth or reality.
“I have been involved in filmmaking in Manipur for a long time,” Rakesh tells Imphal Review of Arts and Politics (IRAP). “I used to focus on commercial films. I have also seen the plight of farmers—their hope for rain and a crop rises each season just to have it ruined by some criminal activity. That is why I made this film. It focuses on events that actually happened to farmers.”
Phouoibee (The Goddess of Paddy) springs from that lived empathy. The film gently reveals the sacred connection between nature, spirit, and agrarian life in Manipur and entwines mythology with social realism into a compelling cinematic story. It captures not just the cadence of rural life, but its ruptures as well, the unseen violence that shakes and uproots delicate dreams.
“It took time to make,” Rakesh explains. “The film was time-bound. I had to wait another year – until the next harvest – to shoot some scenes.”
At the center of Phouoibee is a man who runs an old-age home, who meets a deranged stranger who is, at that point in the narrative, encoded as Iboyaima, a peasant farmer from a village geographically removed and socially distant in ways that complicate their connection. But through his daughter and brother, the story unfolds as a portrait of impoverished faith and clawing at their minuscule potential into the future. The family members pray to the goddess Phouoibee for a better life, their supplication for a better life, and now tragedy accompanies their yield when miscreants burn their crops, pushing Iboyaima deeper into mental despair. The story becomes both personal and allegorical – a reflection on the fragility of human labor and the sanctity of land.
If Phouoibee depicts the rhythms of the earth, The Silent Performer looks inwards – into the tenuous realm of identity, displacement, and perseverance. Dr. Rakesh Huidrom, the film’s creator, is no stranger to stories that reflect society’s muffled pain. The documentary form informs Dr. Rakesh’s methods of embracing cinematic authors as a filmmaker; he is at heart an observer, one who is interested in the nuances and unspoken knowledge of human experience.
“It is a story based on a theatre artist, a stage performer,” Dr. Rakesh explains. “As an artist myself I wanted to emphasize the conflicts between the people. The main character is an artist who has a dream of serving society through his art; and after another community attacks his home, his life is changed forever.”
He narrates, “The film traces the performance artist’s journey from whatever sense of belonging he had, to becoming a displaced exile. After losing his home due to ethnic violence, he flees with his wife and daughter to live with his aunt in a village far away. The applause and fanfare of survival have been replaced by the silence of existence. An uncle who is familiar to him encourages the performer to take on manual work to support the family; however, he is developing all about work whilst trying to find ways to manage recovery through the performer – though it is a physical struggle, his inner stage still shines – a domain in which he is continuing to perform, hope and remember.”
He explains, “There is little dialogue in the movie The Silent Performer. Rather, the film plays out like a poem in motion; it expresses its emotional and sensory experience through gesture, rhythm, and visual metaphor – the movement of a kite, a torn page of poetry, stillness and waiting. From its silence, the film speaks powerfully about the continued endurance of art and the artist as a witness to his time.”
“Although now in a job of manual labor, he continues to visualize himself as an artist and hopes for better days of no conflict,” said Dr. Rakesh. “The takeaway is to put away violence and conflict and hope that future generations live without conflict.”
In his subtle cinema every frame is a prayer, a plea for tranquility in a society so often splintered by discord.
Navigating Filmmaking Beyond the Classroom
While Rakesh Moirangthem has spent more than twenty years creating commercial films, he is shifting into making both feature films with the intention of festival circuit and having festival recognition. On the other hand, Dr. Rakesh Huidrom is not doing it the same way. He is rooted in documentary filmmaking paired with an academic background.
“Earlier I was making documentary films,” recalls Dr. Rakesh. “I have made two documentary films and began my career in film around 2012-2013. This is my third short film. Being selected in the Kolkata International Film Festival is my biggest achievement so far.”
The Silent Performer involved risk-taking to a degree that is uncommon to traditional filmmaking. Its content involves never before seen footage that was shot in real time during the protest in Imphal — not easy for someone who is not a journalist.
“I had convinced my protagonist to join in the protest that was unfolding in Imphal and had depended on a journalist friend to assist me in filming events as well as following the actor. I couldn’t do retakes as it was a real event. The film consists of footage of events that unfolded in real time, which was highly complicated,” he shares. “My focus is more on sending films to festivals that are recognized by NFDC or sponsored by the Ministry of Information. I always do a thorough check on any festival before submitting my film.”
That difference between these two directors is telling: one moves from commercial regional cinema to telling narratives that are similar to what’s found in festival format, while the other navigates artistic content through documentary and short films. Both aim to put Manipur on the international film map. Yet both have one very important thing in common – neither attended a formal film school. “I attended a summer FTII film appreciation course in Pune, 2012, and I attended some short sessions in Imphal,” Dr. Rakesh adds.
The Case for a Film School in Manipur
Would Manipur produce good filmmakers if the state has a full-fledged film school providing training and study on films? On this note, the conversation with the two directors naturally turns to the question of whether Manipur needs a dedicated film school: a notion both directors strongly support.
“I believe there is a need for proper film education in Manipur,” says Dr. Rakesh. “While there are many organisations and events providing funding and grants for filmmakers, we often don’t know about them. Our knowledge comes from research and short courses. Most films in Manipur are produced individually by those who can afford it. A proper film school would help filmmakers learn the craft systematically and know where to secure funding without solely relying on personal resources.”
Rakesh Moirangthem shares the same experience, and revisits the difficulties of learning his craft without any institutional support: “When I began, I was able to learn from filmmakers who had worked with the celluloid, and from other practitioners. I had no access to go outside of the state, and most filmmakers are from humble backgrounds. There is a dire need for a film school in Manipur. When I screen my films outside of Manipur, and critics ask if I am an SRFTI (Pune) graduate, I beam with pride only to say I am not a film school graduate. This shocks critics. With an actual film school in Manipur, we wouldn’t have to go out of state or pay crazy amounts of money to go to school. We would learn as amateurs, collaboratively, and more economically, but we would still be capable of producing films that could be viewed globally.”
These two directors’ reflections illustrate an important moment in Manipuri cinema. There is talent, and there is vision, but the system of creating the conditions for nurturing filmmakers is just beginning. Their examples show not only what is possible, as they have both persevered, educated themselves, and been imaginative in their challenges, but they also reveal the imperative for institutional support that enables the full scope for the next generation of filmmakers to flourish locally and internationally.
A Crossroads for Manipuri Cinema
The selection of Phouoibee and The Silent Performer at the 31st Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) is a reason to feel proud of Manipur for achieving regard for imagination, vision, and tenacity. However, it also highlights a troubling paradox: Though there is more than half a century of filmmaking in Manipur, there is yet to be a full-fledged film school for the training of budding filmmakers in the state.
This is more than just celebratory news, it should prompt us to ask questions that matter, questions regarding the ability of Manipur to grow filmmakers who can impact audiences at home or abroad. Formal education and learning experiences at craft, funding systems, and technical support must all be present to really begin cultivating filmmakers whose work has the potential to impact audiences at a global level.
In the present state, institutions like the Manipur State Film and Television Institute (MSFTI) only operate infrequently in the form of short courses. While these endeavors may provide relevant experience, they are not yet enough to develop the ongoing culture of filmmakers locally. It is far-reaching to tout some fifty plus years of produced work without the presence of a formal institution to educate filmmakers locally. In many ways, it is a suppression of our potential to not acknowledge that film can be an art that reaches out to the world and changes society.
The future of cinema in Manipur is about rethinking cinema entirely. It is not merely a form of entertainment: it is a process of documenting and displaying untold stories, situating social realities, and providing inspiration that is not limited by regional borders. The stories of Rakesh Moirangthem and Dr. Rakesh Huidrom are examples of what can happen when enthusiasm is met with determination. Their films are a demonstration of the creative potential that exists in the state and also a challenge to support the development of the institutions, infrastructure, and education to bring Manipuri cinema to the world stage.
The writer is a media scholar and professional
