Manipuri film 'Andro Dreams' to open Non-Feature Film Section at 54th IFFI

Imphal: Marking a significant milestone for Manipuri cinema, Meena Longjam's 'Andro Dreams' has been selected as the opening film for the Non-Feature Film section at the prestigious 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) scheduled to be held in Goa from November 20 to 28, 2023.

This honor places 'Andro Dreams' among a select few Manipuri non-feature films to have opened the Indian Panorama section, following Aribam Syam's 'Yelhou Jagoi' (1995) and Bobo Khuraijam's 'Ima Sabitri' (2016).

The Indian Panorama, a cornerstone of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), showcases a curated selection of 25 feature films and 20 non-feature films.

The esteemed jury panels, comprising twelve members for feature films and six for non-feature films, meticulously evaluate and deliberate upon each entry, ensuring that only films of exceptional cinematic, thematic, and aesthetic merit are chosen for the Indian Panorama.

'Andro Dreams', a documentary chronicling the inspiring journey of an all-women football club, holds a special significance as it emerged from MSFDS' "Imphal Documentor", a 5-day documentary project development lab conducted in collaboration with the Documentary Resource Initiative (DRI), Kolkata, and Television Cine Foundation Manipur.

The film received development funding through this initiative.

Meena Longjam expressed her gratitude to MSFDS for their unwavering commitment to empowering local filmmakers, particularly documentary filmmakers, through project development and incubation labs such as "Imphal Documentor", "Editing Lab", and "Cinematography Labs."