About 54 films, including 38 foreigners, will be screened during the Ichigi Imphal International Film Festival. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Manipur has been banking on an international film festival to rebuild its image for months of ethnic conflict.

The state capital Imphal is scheduled to host the second edition of the Imphal International Film Festival from 6 to 9 February. The biennial program began in April 2022, but could not be held in 2024 due to conflict between cookie-zo and Metei communities. From May 2023.

Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS) and Manipur State Film and Television Institute are the organizers of Film Festival, which is designed to place the state as a strategic center for independent film-making.

“We could not perform festivals last year, which should be due to ethnic violence affecting the image of our state. We thought this is the time to expand our rich story to tell our image through cinema, ”said the director of the festival and MSFDS Secretary, Sunzu Bachsatiyamum.

Manipur has been relatively peaceful for more than two months.

He said that 54 films including 38 foreigners will be released during the three -day festival. Film packages include international competition, world lens, northeast streams, desire classics, Ikhogogi Montaz, Remastard Manipuri Cinema: The Light of Manipuri, and Manipuri Matini.

More than 50 guests, including filmmakers and filmmakers of Metropolis, will participate in the festival. Many foreign filmmakers and film critics intended to intend, but we could not invite them because we did not get political approval in time, ”said Mr. Bachspatimam.

A fascination of the festival is a memento in which the permanent spirit of cinema and the artistic flexibility in the state is a symbol.

“The design was inspired by the tireless energy of the film industry and Manipuri Pony. The purpose of Memento is to make the headlines the need for the protection of this endangered indigenous breed associated with the birth of Polo, ”said Robin Wahgbam, the producer of the memento.