Hundreds of people had turned up at the palace auditorium of the Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS) in Imphal to enjoy their favourite movies at the ongoing golden jubilee celebrations of Manipuri cinema.
Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh had inaugurated the year-long golden jubilee celebrations on April 9.
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The auditorium was packed to capacity on Sunday during which several award-winning films were screened.
The films screened on the third day included ‘Look At The Sky’ by Ashok Veilou, ‘I Rise’ by Borun Thokchom, ‘Noong Amadi Yerum’ by Romi Meitei, Sanakeithel by MA Singh and Lammei by Oken Amakcham and O Gautam .
The visitors were spellbound with the inspiring story of Manipuri boxer L Sarita shown in the 52 minutes long documentary film ‘I Rise’ by Borun Thokchom.
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Sarita and her husband Ch Thoiba along with the director took part in the post-screening interaction session moderated by Oinam Doren.
‘I Rise’ was shot over a span of five years.
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“To make the shots natural, the characters should feel comfortable in front of the camera. We even visited without a camera on several occasions to strengthen the relationship with characters,” Borun Thokchom said.
Borun also acknowledged that the collective efforts of the whole film team made the film possible.
Sarita, who became a celebrated sports star of international fame by overcoming all odds, and her husband also shared their experiences with the film.
The couple also narrated their heartwarming stories during the interaction.
Meanwhile, the Cine Dialogue in the morning featured a conversation between renowned self-taught Assamese filmmaker and national award winner Rima Das and documentary filmmaker Bobo Khuraijam of Manipur.
Responding to a query by Bobo, Rima Das said, “Our characters are reflections of self. It is difficult to completely separate self from the characters. Sometimes, I feel like I am making the same films again and again.”
When asked about detaching from the characters one has created, she said that everyone has their own social and political opinions pertaining to the different backgrounds people grew up in.
“I sometimes put my opinion through the characters’ dialogue. But they can be separated by studying the background of the character. This way, we can portray the character with authenticity,” she stated adding that she is very careful with dialogues.
Talking about avenues of production, Rima exhorted upcoming filmmakers to try the co-production market if they have a limited budget.
She encouraged them to keep trying with the limited resources and by tying up with like-minded people.