Manipuri film – Highways of Life wins big in International Film Festival

IMPHAL | JUNE 22, 2020:

A Manipuri film, "Highways of Life" won the Best Film award in the International Competition of the 8th Liberation DocFest Bangladesh 2020 held from June 16 to 20 in Dhaka.

The 52-minute long documentary was directed and scripted by Amar Maibam and produced by the Films Division. The film was edited by Biju Das and the sound designer was Partha Halder.

The film documented the journey of a truck driver ferrying essential commodities amidst blockades and violent protests along the highways putting his lives on the frontline to serve the people of Manipur.

Tareq Ahmed, Director of the festival said that a total of 1800 films were submitted in the 8th DocFest till late March, and 200 were selected from the list till last April, and a total of 83 films were screened throughout the five-day festival.

Highways of Life, the only film selected from India was pitched against seven documentaries from Belgium, Slovenia, Germany, Argentina, UK, Italy, and Iran in the International competition section in the 5-day virtual festival streamed at www.liberationdocfestbd.org.

The film was shot over five years from 2014 to 2018 and bagged four top awards- Best Non-Feature Film, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing in the Manipur State Film Awards 2020.

The Director of the film, Amar Maibam will receive 1,000 USD, a crest, and a certificate.