Speaking on the occasion, Governor appealed to all concerned to make good films which will inspire youngsters to stand for righteousness and help bring laurels in national and international film festivals.
“I’m hopeful that with its rich cultural and artistic talents, Manipur can produce more quality films to reform the society at this critical juncture of social turmoil,” he said.
“It is important that the absence of feature or non-feature films/videos in tribal dialects in the festival deserves attention, not only of the MFDC but also of all lovers of Manipuri cinema”.
He further added that the tribes of Manipur also have a rich cultural heritage and their folklore is replete with beautiful tales of romance and heroism, which will provide the materials for those desirous to make films/videos on the tribes concerned.
In the prevailing socio-economic circumstances digital films will dominate over celluloid films in Manipur and the present Manipuri cinema is a product of the successful journey from celluloid to digital and the latter will stay for the years to come until a better and more efficient electronic substitute replaces it, he observed.
Father of Manipur cinema Aribam Syam Sharma was also present on the dais during the colourful inaugural ceremony which was attended by the who’s who of the Manipuri film world.
Around 30 non-feature and feature films, mostly digital, will be screened during the festival, which is scheduled to continue till September 18 next. Only one celluloid feature film – Yenning Amadi Likla and 13 video feature films have been chosen out of the total of 77 video feature films.
According to Managing Director of MFDC Dr K Sobita, daily activities of the festival will also be published through a news bulletin.This year, thecorporation is also planning to give cash awards to film actors.
A photo exhibition on the journey of Manipuri cinema was also opened as part of the festival.
An open forum on different film-related issues, including the journey of Manipuri cinema from celluloid to video, film prospects, film music in Manipuri cinema, original film script and screenplay, importance of non-feature films and audience, etc, will be organised during the festival with different film personalities and experts.
