Manipuri filmmaker Mayanglambam Romi Meitei wins ‘Best Director Award’ at Kazan International Muslim Film Festival

He won the award for his first independent film, "Eikhoigi Yum" (our house)

Noted Manipuri filmmaker Mayanglambam Romi Meitei has added another feather to his cap by winning the ‘Best Director’s Award’ at the 19th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival (KIMFF) held in Kazan, Russia from September 5 to 9.

He won the award for his first independent film, “Eikhoigi Yum” (our house). The 89-minute Eikhoigi Yum revolves around Loktak, the biggest freshwater lake in the Northeast.

The film is a narrative about the impact of globalization on a little rural village that forces the residents to survive on scrapes with the fishing community facing an eviction notice from the government.

Though Meitei bagged the prestigious award, he was unable to express his joy because of the ongoing ethnic conflict in his home state.

Mayanglambam Romi Meitei said that if there had been peace in Manipur, he would have been happy to receive this honour. Thousands of people are now homeless due to the ongoing conflict, so receiving an award now does not make him happy. he added.

Meitei stated that many Russians in the audience, who were aware of the unrest in Manipur, said that they would pray for the state to get back to normal soon.

It may be mentioned here that last month, Meitei bagged the best Manipuri film award for the same film at the 69th National Film Awards 2021 in the language category specified in Schedule VIII of the (Indian) Constitution.

During the five-day Kazan cinema festival, as many as 127 feature films from across the world vied for awards in different categories.

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