Highways of Life, Eigi Kona selected for IFFI 2020
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, December 19 2020:
"Highways of Life" directed by Maibam Amarjeet Singh and "Eigi Kona" aka "Stallone My Pony" directed by Bobby Wahengbam have been selected for the Indian Panorama films of the 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2020 .
While "Eigi Kona" was among the 23 feature films (including three mainstream films) selected from a pool of 183 contemporary Indian films, the "Highway of Life" was among 20 non feature films selected from a diverse pool of 143 .
The selected films will be screened during the 8 days film festival in Goa which is scheduled to be held from January 16 to 24 next year.
The collection of films reflects the vibrancy and diversity of Indian film industry.
The feature film jury, comprising twelve members, was headed by acclaimed filmmaker,screenwriter, and producer, John Mathew Matthan while the seven member jury for the non-feature films was headed by acclaimed feature and documentary filmmaker Haobam Paban Kumar.
Highways of Life
The 52-minute film Highways of Life is a detailed look at the high octane lives of Manipur's Highway truckers.
Manipur is literally connected to the rest of the world only through two National Highways.
The film tells the tales of the truckers' lives amid the frequent economic blockade, general strike, armed extortion and bad road conditions.
The film narrates the journey of a group of truckers through the unfavourable highways and risks they take in ferrying essential commodities for survival of three million Manipuri people.
The film is produced by the Films Division.
Amasjeet Maibam is son of legendary filmmaker MA Singh.
After learning the nuances of film making from his father and graduation from Manipur University, he did one-year Cinematography course from Kolkata Film and TV Institute.
He made his directorial debut with a documentary titled City of Victims (2009) .
Highways of Life had won the Best Film Award at the Liberation Doc fest 2020, Dhaka and shown in competition section of many other reputed film festivals including Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival.
Eigi Kona (Stallone My Pony)
Bobby Wahengbam and Maipaksana Haorongbam's 90-minute long "Eigi Kona" is an index of how Polo players and ponies are leading "pathetic lives" in the birthplace of the modem game.
The feature film follows the story of a young boy "Thawai" and his Stallone, a descendant of the horse his famous grandfather rode playing Polo.
The film depicts poverty and the impact it has on the young boy and Stallone.
The film is produced by Dr K Sushila Devi, former Director of Art & Culture, Government of Manipur.
Bobby Wahengbam is a Swarna Kamal awardee for Best Writing on Cinema for his book-Matamgi Manipur, the first Manipuri feature film in the National Film Awards 2017 . An active member of Manipur Film Journalists and Critics Association and Film Society of Manipur, he graduated from St Xavier's College, Mumbai and obtained Master's degree from University of Mumbai.
A diploma in Film Production from Xavier's Institute of Communication, Mumbai, he had a short three-year stint as Assistant Director in Mumbai under Gyan Correa and Sanjay Talreja.
He acted as protagonist in Manipuri feature film-Meichak (2000) directed by L Banka Sharma.
His documentary films- Joseph's son and Roshni were screened at Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) organised by the Films Division in 2008 and 2010 respectively.
Maipaksana Haorongbam is a National award winning film maker whose feature film- Bibusu Yaohanbiyu bagged the Best Regional film in Manipuri in the National Film Awards 2015 .
The film was also screened at the International Children Film Festival of India, Hyderabad organised by the Children Film Society of India in 2017.His Tangkhul-Manipuri feature film-Wonnam (2018) was selected in the Itanagar International Film Festival 2019 .
Maipaksana received the three-year Diploma Course in Film Editing from Dr Bhupen Hazarika Regional Film and Television Institute, Guwahati in 2004.He completed Master's degree in Manipuri Literature from Manipur University in 2014 .
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