IMPHAL: Manipur filmmaker Mayanglambam Romi Meitei has bagged the best director award for his debut non-commercial film Eikhoigi Yum (Our Home) at the 19th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival (KIMFF) at Kazan in Russia.
The Kazan International Muslim Film Festival (KIMFF) was held from September 5 to 9.
The festival attracted a total of 712 submissions from 44 countries.
The competitive program included 52 films from 21 countries: Algeria, Bangladesh, Great Britain, Greece, Egypt, India, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia and Turkey.
Rome Meitei from Manipur, a recipient of several awards at several film festivals organized in India and abroad bagged the best director’s award in this festival in Russia for his 2021 film Eikhoigi Yum (Our Home).
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The 89-minute-long fiction feature, produced by Chingshubam Sheetal and directed by Romi Meitei was set in Loktak, the largest freshwater lake in Manipur, where the fishing community faces an eviction notice.
The film is a narrative on the impact of globalization on a small remote village causing the residents to move away in an attempt to eke out a livelihood.
Notably, Manipur’s popular filmmaker, Mayanglambam Romi Meitei’s Eikhoigi Yum (Our Home) bagged the Best Feature Film, Meiteilon (Manipuri) in the 69th National Film Awards.
His 2021 film Eikhoigi Yum won the Best Feature Film award at the 14th Manipur State Film Festival 2022.
The film also won an Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Indie Meme Film Festival 2023, held in Austin City, United States.