Manipuri Film ‘Ishanou’ To Be Screened At Cannes
IMPHAL, (IANS) – The restored version of the 1990 Manipuri film ‘Ishanou’, directed by renowned filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma, is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival to be held from May 16-27.
The film, which stars Anoubam Kiranmala and Kangjam Tomba and deals with the Maibi culture of Manipur, has been recognized as a World Classic and will be screened in the Cannes Classic section.
Produced in 1990, the 91-minute film was previously an official entry to the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes in 1991.
‘Ishanou’ is only the second celluloid Manipuri feature film that the SN Chand Cine Archive and the Museum of MSFDS has digitized, and the first film to have been restored.
Syam Sharma is the ground-breaking doyen of Manipuri cinema who has been working relentlessly in portraying the cultural and emotional nuances of the state and its people with a humanitarian vision through cinematic storytelling with utmost simplicity and distinctive artistic signature.
Various film-related organizations in Manipur had urged the Information and Broadcasting Ministry last year to confer Dadasaheb Phalke Award upon Syam Sharma.