IGNITE Film Festival 2019: Short Film From Manipur Gets Award

Manipur based Kaisa Pfoze’s ‘Sunset Years’ received the Best Film Award at IGNITE Film Festival 2019. The award also carries a cash prize of Rs 20,000.

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The award giving ceremony was held on at Odissi Research Centre in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. The jury included veteran journalists Sampad Mahapatra and award winning filmmaker Amartya Bhattacharya. The third jury member, Sandeep Sahu could not attend the event.

Pfoze’s film presents the highs and lows of modern day India’s aged community. Their predicament is depicted through the life of the Dada Dadi Park cricket team Mumbai, the never give up Parkinsons Movement and Disability Society, Mumbai, the poor and the neglected and helpless elderly of Mumukhshu Bhavan, Varanasi. The film also shows how years back in Tamil Nadu, people used to bury their older parents alive.

“It took me four years to complete the film. I travelled a lot, from Mumbai to Tamil Nadu. After capturing extensive footage, to compact it within a limited time period was the biggest challenge,” said Kaisa.
Abhishek Swain’s ‘Few Miles Away’ and Bibek Panda’s ‘Mukti’ won the first and second Runners Up award respectively.

Speaking on the quality of films, Sampad Mohapatra said, “There has been considerable improvement in both concept and quality. I hope IGNITE Film Festival will continue every year and young and energetic film makers will participate.” Expressing admiration for this initiative, filmmaker Amartya Bhattacharya said, “The festival encourages the winners to make more films by awarding a cash prize. We hope to see many more young filmmakers from the state in the coming years.”