TCFM concerned over irregularities in Film Fest
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, December 23, 2013:
Referring to news report regarding the just concluded 8th Manipur State Film Festival 2013 wherein only films made by the acquaintances and relatives of members in the organizing committee were screened and the film festival failed to gather visitors due to lack of publicity and organization skills, Television and Cine Foundation Manipur (TCDM) has pointed out that if the reported news were true then it will eventually undermine the efforts of all those people who have been working tirelessly for the development of State film industry.
In a press release, the Foundation pointed out that out of the total 40 feature films which submitted entries for screening in the festival, only nine were selected and for non-feature films, 12 were selected from the 32 entries.
But to the surprise of everyone, several acclaimed films like 'Leipaklei' of Padmashri Aribam Syam Sharma which was awarded Best Film in Manipuri in the 60th National Film Awards; 'Fijigee Mani' of O Gautam, which won Best Feature Film in Manipuri in the 59th National Film Awards; 'The Silent Poet' of Barun Thokchom, Best Debut Film in the 59th National Film Awards Non Feature Category and Best Documentary in the Siliguri Short and Documentary International Film Festival 2011; 'Gun and a God' of Sonia Nepram, which got Special Jury Award in the Mumbai Women International Film Festival 2013 and few others were not selected or considered as competitive films to screen in the 8th Manipur State Film Festival 2013. Taking serious note over the selection procedure of the films, the Foundation questioned how all these films which have won accolades at national and international level were left out from screening in the film festival.