Manipur’s popular filmmaker, Mayanglambam Romi Meitei’s “Eikhoigi Yum wins the FIPRESCI award for the Best International Film and NETPAC JURY Special Mention Award at the 27th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). Set in Loktak lake with the fishing community facing eviction notice, “Eikhoi Yum” is a narrative on the impact of globalization on a small remote village which causes the residents to move away in an attempt to eke out a livelihood, a press release by the Manipur State Film Development Society said.
“Eikhoi Yum” competed in the International competition that had 14 films from countries like Germany, Bolivia, Tanzania, Brazil, Iran, Israel, Vietnam, Turkey, Spain etc., the release added.
The MSFDS release further said the 89-minutes long fiction feature, produced by Chingshubam Sheetal and Romi Meitei, had earlier won the Best feature film award at the 14 th Manipur State Film Awards 2022, organized by Manipur State Film Development Society of the Directorate of Art & Culture, Government of Manipur. MSFDS congratulates Romi Meitei and his entire film crew for winning glory to Manipuri Cinema at the international forum.
The 8-day long International Film Festival of Kerala which began on 9 th December and concluded on Friday 16 December 2022 showcased 180 films, screening at 14 theatres and over 13 thousand film delegates registered for the film festival, it added.
Presenting the best of World Cinema, Malayalam Cinema and also featured competition for films from Asian, African and Latin American countries, IFFK has evolved to being one of the prominent film festivals of India, organized by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy under aegis of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. Over the years, the IFFK has come to be known as Asia’s best managed and probably the world’s most people-centred film festival. The Festival attracts the best films, renowned directors, technicians and spectators from across the globe and is acknowledged as one of the leading cultural events in India.
This year festival was impressive in terms of audience participation and screening of value- based films. The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr by Kerala minister of Registration & Cooperation, V.N. Vasavan. Prominent writer M. Mukundan who was the chief guest of the closing function said that film festivals should be used as a means of building a wall of defence against those who obstruct the freedom of expression, the MSFDS release further said.
