Manipuri film Ishanou recognised as World Classic; set to premiere at Cannes 2023

The restored version of the film the 1990 Manipuri film Ishanou is set to premiere at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Aribam Syam Sharma, the film deals with the Maibi culture of Manipur and has been recognised as World Classic. It has been restored by the Film Heritage Foundation.

Ishanou stars Anoubam Kiranmala and Kangjam Tomba in lead roles. It has been officially selected in the Cannes Classic Section of the Festival de Cannes, France, to be held from 16th May to 27 May 2023. The film was previously screened at Cannes in 1991.

The Cannes Classic section that Ishanou has been selected for, comprises restored film classics belonging to the history of cinema and notably to the history of the Festival de Cannes.

The film’s director and producer Aribam Syam Sharma said in a statement: “I am so glad that Film Heritage Foundation chose Ishanou to be restored. It has been a learning experience for me to understand the meticulous process of restoring this film like a work of art, a process that has taken almost a year. I have seen the time and painstaking effort put in by Shri Shivendra Singh Dungarpur of the Film Heritage Foundation to work closely with me to ensure that the film is restored keeping in mind my original vision. It has been a journey of discovery to work with the Film Heritage Foundation and to see my film restored so beautifully and respectfully and given a new life after over thirty years."

Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, Film Heritage Foundation, said in a statement: “The Film Heritage Foundation is so proud that our restoration of Ishanou has been selected for a world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival 2023 and that we are returning to Cannes for the second year in a row after the success of our restoration of Aravindan Govindan’s film Thamp that premiered at Cannes last year.”

He added, “It has been a challenging journey, but the result has been more than worth it. The beautiful restoration will remind the world of the work of a true artist like Aribam Syam Sharma, and give new life to an almost forgotten gem of India’s film heritage from Manipur.”

Stay tuned to this space for more updates!