Panaji :A special section ‘New Horizons from North-East’ kick-started with a high-octane performance by Manipuri dance group Laihui at the ongoing International Film Festival of India.
The section will feature retrospective on ace Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Shyam Sharma. It will present works of one of the talented young filmmakers from the region’s eight states. The movies, being screened, comprise full-length feature films, documentaries and short films.
During the inauguration ceremony, Sharma, Manju Borah along with emerging directors M Maniram and Jadumani Dutta were felicitated by Festival Director, C Senthil Rajan and CEO, Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) Ameya Abhyankar.
“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 organised 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,” Sharma said.
Borah added it was a positive thing that North-east cinema is being focused at and it has got a special section at IFFI 2015.
“The North-east film industry is lagging behind in terms of number of production of films 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 Maniram and 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.”
PTI