Mumbai International Film Festival to get a taste of the North-East

Kolkata: With increased entries from the north-east, this year’s edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) will have a major representation from the region.

Besides a special package of 10 films from the North-East, 6-7 other films from the region will be screened in the India’s largest documentary, short and animation film festival from 3 to 9 February.

“We were pleasantly surprised this year as we got 32 entries from the north-east. This shows that the quality and the quantity of films have improved in the region,” MIFF director Bankim said.

Manipur alone has representation of around 10 films. Imphal-based journalist Borun Thokchom’s The Silent Poet and Romi Meitei’s Rock and Egg (14 minutes) will be competing in the international section while Chandam Netraj’s April 6th (10 minutes) will be competing for the best documentary in the Indian section.

Besides, Saikhom Ratan and RK Suresh’s SOS will also be screened at the 12th edition of the MIFF.

The Silent Poet shows 15 minutes of unused footages of Iron lady Irom Sharmila’s life under custody and how she continued her 11-year-long hunger strike against AFSPA.

It also reveals the poetic side of the human rights activist, who is nose-fed to keep her alive.

SOS, on the other hand, is a brief but detailed illustration of Sharmila within 21 minutes. Manipuri filmmaker Haobam Paban Kumar’s Mr India, which had bagged the best non-feature film award on social issues in the 57th National Film Awards for 2009, will also be screened.

The 47-minute documentary chronicles the life of an HIV patient who overcame all odds and barriers to win Mr India title.

Besides few films from Assam, one film each from Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh will be shown at the film carnival.

MIFF has received a record 791 entries from all over the world with 37 countries entering the festival. From this year, the award money has been enhanced significantly and the Indian competition section has also been revived to promote national talents.

PTI