Two Manipuri films- feature film Eigi Kona (Stallone My Pony) and non-feature film Highways of Life- were selected for the Indian Panorama of the 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2020.

This as recently declared by Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar. Names of a total of 23 feature films and 20 non-feature films were announced by the Minister.

Bobby Wahengbam and Maipaksana Haorongbam have directed Eigi Kona and Highways of Life has been directed by Maibam Amrjeet Singh.

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The two Manipuri films will be showcased at the Indian Panorama section of the IFFI, which is scheduled from January 16 to January 24, 2021, in Goa.

Making it to the list from the northeast is Assamese feature film Bridge, which has been directed by Kripal Kalita.

The list of feature films includes movies like Sand Ki Ankh (Hindi) directed by Tushar Hiranandani, Up Up & Up (English) directed by Govind Nihalani, Namo (Sanskrit) directed by Vijeesh Mani, Kalira Atita (Oriya) directed by Nila Madhab Panda among others.

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The list of non-feature films includes Highways Of Life (Manipuri) directed by Maibam Amarjeet Singh, Ahimsa- Gandhi: The Power Of The Powerless (English) directed by Ramesh Sharma, Green Blackberries (Nepali) directed by Prithviraj Das Gupta among others.

"The 90-minute-long Manipuri film Eigi Kona is an index of how polo players and ponies are leading pathetic lives in the birthplace of polo," reported E-Pao.

Meanwhile, Highways of Life is a detailed look at the high octane lives of Manipur's Highway truckers.

It may be mentioned here that being landlocked from all sides, Manipur is literally connected to the rest of the world only through two National highways.

But frequent economic blockade lightening general strike, armed ransom extortion, and bad road conditions make these lifeline life-threatening for truckers.

The film journeys a group of truckers through these unfavourable highways putting their lives on the frontline, ferrying essential commodities to serve the three million people of Manipur.

The film has been produced by the Films Division.

Of late, Manipuri films have been making a mark- both at the national and international circuits.

In 2017, Haobam Paban Kumar’s Lady Of The Lake became the first Manipuri film to receive its world premiere in the New Currents competition at Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

The movie was also selected for the India Gold competition in Mumbai the same year.