Berlinale call for Manipur film

GUWAHATI: Manipuri filmmaker Haobam Paban Kumar's debut feature film 'Loktak Lairembee' ('Lady of the Lake') has been selected for the Forum section of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.
This is the second Manipuri film to be selected for a major international film festival after Aribam Syam Sharma's 'Ishanou' which was screened in Cannes in 1990.
"I think it's very important for me and the entire region.When Sharma ji's film went to Cannes, a whole generation of filmmakers was inspired. I was a bit worried about my first feature film but to reach this level is a great thing for me," Paban Kumar told TOI.
The 71-minute film tells the story of a man who falls sick ever since the authorities set fire to his hut after blaming his community for polluting the Loktak Lake. One morning, he accidentally finds a gun in the lake. His reactions to the new-found toy form the crux of the film.
"In a larger context, it talks about the northeast. Guns don't lead us anywhere. All my ideas come from everyday happenings around me. I think it was important to talk about the issue," Paban Kumar added.
National award-winning film critic Utpal Borpujari said two Indian films - 'Loktak Lairembee' and the Rjkumar Rao-starrer 'Newton' - had been selected in the 'Forum' section after a long time.
The section deals with avant garde, essays, long-term observations, political reportage and yet-to-be-discovered cinematic landscapes.