Imphal, Dec. 3: Makhonmani Mongsaba’s Yenning Amadi Likla may see the light of day in Manipur if the organisers of Festival of Manipuri Cinema, 2007 have their way.

The organisers of the festival, which will be held from January 6 to 12, today said they would invite the filmmaker to premiere it in Imphal.

The film, loosely translated as Spring and Dew, was shown for the fourth time yesterday at the International Film Festival of India, Goa, on demand from the jury members and audiences alike.

Cinemas in Manipur are ill- equipped to screen full-length feature films after a militant ban on Hollywood and Bollywood films in 2000. All 58 theatres in the state have switched to LCD projection.

There is not a single celluloid feature film entry in the festival but a panel of judges has selected 24 video films out of 48 entries and 10 documentaries — one in celluloid and nine in video format.

Film Forum, Manipur, is organising the festival after a long time because the government stopped hosting shows as there were very few films being made on celluloid.

The Manipur Film Development Corporation, which used to host the film festival, is refusing to organise a festival of digital films, as the state government is yet to give recognition to movies made on video format. “We will request the Yenning Amadi Likla team to premiere its film at the festival. We are hoping that the producers and the director would accept our invitation so that the people of Manipur could watch the film,” W. Lalit, chairman of the film forum, said.

The film, produced by six women with no film background, deals with a child’s relationship with nature as he feels neglected by his parents.

This is the first entry of a Manipuri feature film in the Indian Panorama after a decade. Lalit said the organisers would also invite Haobam Pabankumar’s Ngaihak Lambida (Along the Way), a documentary about a woman’s struggle for freedom.

He said the film forum decided to hold the festival to reiterate its demand for recognition of video films and also a government policy. “We also believe that holding a festival would encourage filmmakers to produce good quality films and good artistes. It is unfortunate that the Manipur government which is taking entertainment taxes from video films, but refusing to give it recognition,” Lalit said. Manipur was the pioneer in the field of video feature films and the industry had an experience of six years, he added.