The 1st edition of the 5-day ‘Eikhoigi Imphal International Film Festival’, EIIFF, which was organised as a part of the year long Golden Jubilee Celebration of Manipuri Cinema concluded on Wednesday.

Even as the festival witnessed stimulating participation and response from the general public, the apparently unenthusiastic attitude of the state film actors towards the festival peeved senior film personalities.

In an interaction with reporters, senior film actor Ningthouja Joybidya contended that most of the popular film actors, especially the young ones, did not turn up at the festival.

He expressed the desire for the artists to understand that the festival was organised in a bid to foster the holistic growth of Manipuri Cinema.

Meanwhile, the director of ‘No Refusal’, Kaushik Hafizee, expressed joy over the screening of his debut film at the international film festival. His film got world premiered on Wednesday at the EIIFF 2022 edition.

He opined that the festival was hosted in an outstanding manner with strict adherence to schedule. He also appreciated the audience for their enthusiastic outlook and engaging in conversations.

Noted Documentary Filmmaker, Amar Maibam stated that the festival will go a long way in making Manipuri Cinema achieve global outreach. Further exuding confidence that the festival will help in shifting the focus of common people from the notion that films are just meant for entertainment, he added that the festival will have a cumulative impact in terms of enhancing the creativity and uniqueness of Manipuri cinema.

Meanwhile, cinephile Leingakpa Toijam appealed to the people to ensure maximum participation in future editions of the festival. He exhorted the people to enjoy the ‘shared experience’ of watching a movie together on the silver screen instead of watching films alone at home on TV.

On the concluding day, Laihui’s Mangka and the team enthralled the audience with some live songs.

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