As per the latest annual report of the Central Board of Film Certification under the Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B Ministry), 43 video feature films, 18 video short films and one celluloid feature film were certified from Manipur in 2011 against Assam’s one video feature film, 9 video short films and 7 celluloid feature films while Mizoram has only one video short film.
Moreover, Manipur bagged 57 National Film Awards – 27 for feature films and 30 for non-feature (short and documentary) films till 2014 – making Manipur the most awarded State amongst the eight NE States. The State produced its first feature film film Matamgi Manipur in 1972, according to Sunzu Bachaspatimayum, a national film award winning filmmaker.
Speaking to The Assam Tribune, Sunzu said, “80 per cent of the film crew of the Oscar-qualified Mirra Bank’s The only Real Game, a documentary feature on baseball in Manipur, is from our State.”
Besides, as many as 25 films from Manipur, comprising feature and non-features, were selected for showcasing as the Best of Indian Cinema in Indian Panorama Section of the International Film Festival of India by the Directorate of Film Festival of India, since 1972, he added.
The film culture took shape when the first documentary Hiyang Tannaba (Boat race) was made in the State in 1936. The State now has 14 film-related guilds as per records, while the State government is finalizing a film policy to encourage filmmaking through Manipur Film Development Corporation Ltd, which has organized eight State film festivals till 2013.
Meanwhile, considering the State’s film culture, potential and its contribution to Indian cinema besides its future prospects, a public convention in Imphal has demanded setting up of the 3rd Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) in Manipur. It may be noted that the two FTIIs are located in Pune and Kolkata.
Appreciating the recent announcement by the I&B Ministry to set up the country’s third National film & Television Institute (FTII) in one of the NE States, the significant gathering chaired by father of Manipur cinema Padmashree Aribam Syam Sharma on Sunday resolved to urge the Centre to consider history, achievements and future prospects of the institute while awarding the prestigious national institution.
“Once the proposed FTII is set up in Manipur, it can play a vital link with immediate neighbours like Myanmar through exchange programmes and thus help in taking forward the Government of India’s ‘Action East Policy’,” the meeting resolved. “It will also replicate the well known success of Manipur in sports that came after setting up of the regional centre of Sports Authority of India in the State.”