Manipur filmmaker Romi Meitei wins best director award at 19th KIMFF in Russia
Mayanglambam Romi Meitei, a filmmaker from Manipur, has won the Best Director award for the movie “Eikhoigi Yum (Our Home)”, at the 19th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival (KIMFF) held in Russia. He has become famous around the world for his very first movie. The KIMFF took place from September 5 to 9, with 127 different movies sent in from 44 countries.
Meitei had won the best Manipuri film award for the same film in the month of August at the 69th National Film Awards. This was given in the language category mentioned in Schedule VIII of the Indian Constitution. His amazing movie from 2021 also got the award for the Best Feature Film at the 14th Manipur State Film Festival in 2022. Besides that, it had won the Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Indie Meme Film Festival in 2023, which happened in Austin City, United States.
Despite winning the prestigious award, he seemed to be not fully elated due to the ongoing tensions in Manipur. He said, “I would have felt happier about winning this award if there wasn’t a conflict in Manipur. Right now, because of this clash in Manipur, many people have lost their homes, and in this situation, winning an award doesn’t seem important”.
Meitei’s achievement happened in a tough competition where there were 52 movies from 21 different countries. The movie, “Eikhoigi Yum (Our Home),” revolves around a touching story of a group of fishermen who are in danger of losing their homes. The 89-minute story created by Chingshubam Sheetal and skillfully directed by Romi Meitei is set around Loktak lake, the largest freshwater lake in Manipur.
In the film “Eikhoigi Yum (Our Home),” Romi Meitei has not only demonstrated his outstanding storytelling abilities but has also brought attention to the common challenges faced by communities dealing with the impacts of modernization. His achievement at the Kazan International Muslim Film Festival serves as proof of cinema’s ability to connect different cultures and strike a chord with audiences worldwide. The Kazan International Muslim Film Festival has been taking place since 2005 in the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan.
