Imphal: Curtains came down on the 4th edition of ‘Documentor Imphal’ series on Saturday at the Preview Theatre of MSFDS complex at Palace Gate, Imphal.
The 4th edition was jointly organized by Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS), and Documentary Resource Initiative (DRI). During the event, a total of Rs 8 lakh in cash awards was handed over to eight documentary filmmakers from the state.
‘Beyond the Trials‘, a documentary film project on extreme sport as a expression of freedom, by Khaba Maimon was conferred the ‘Best Project’, bagging the highest cash prize award of Rs 2.5 lakh.
Documentaries ‘On the Crossroad‘, based on the issues confronting the state regarding the transition from Bengali script to Meitei Mayek, by James Khangenbam and ‘Battlefield Imphal’ were conferred the ‘Promisingly Culturally Engaged Project’ and ‘Promisingly Socially Engaged Project’, respectively, with cash awards of Rs 1.5 lakh each.
Five other documentary film projects – Andro Dreams (by Meena Longjam), Anonymous Dance (by Tushar Nongthombam), Eche Sharmila (by Manoj Kshetrimayum), Bidyapati –The Lady Everest Summiter (by Paonam Birjeet) and We are the Water (by Grace Rephung L) were also conferred ‘Project development cash awards’ of Rs 50,000 each.
The entrepreneurs, who jointly supported the projects, are Dr Thangjam Dhabali, MD of Babina Healthcare & Hospitality; Wahengbam Braja, art collector and founder of Kid Foundation, a private kid day care school; educationist Konica Khuraijam, and Radhesyam Oinam, the proprietor of Network Services.
This is the first time that local entrepreneurs have stepped forward to support local documentary filmmakers to help them realize their dream projects by providing financial support.
The documentary films were made during the five-day Incubation & Mentorship Lab called ‘Documentor Imphal’, jointly organized by MSFDS and DRI Kolkata. Four acclaimed documentary film mentors from India are behind the documentary projects to provide the much-needed guidance to the budding filmmakers.
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