Cannes 2023: Manipuri classic Ishanou to premiere at film festival

Manipuri film Ishanou (The Chosen One) will be premiering at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 19. The film screening will be held in the revered Cannes Classics section of the festival. With this, Ishanou becomes the only Indian film this year to premiere under the Classics section, which honours restored versions of old movies. 

The film was restored by Film Heritage Foundation in collaboration with the director, Aribam Syam Sharma, as well as the Manipur State Film Development Society. The restoration process were carried out at the L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in Bologna, as well as the Prasad Corporation Pvt. Ltd.’s Post - Studios in Chennai. In order to digitise the audio from the 35mm acetate print, Sharma oversaw the colour grading process himself. The Film Heritage Foundation funded the project, with assistance from Susan Harmon and Dr. Richard Meyer.

Responding to questions regarding his film's restoration, Sharma said, “It has been a journey of discovery to work with Film Heritage Foundation and to see my film restored so beautifully and respectfully. It had been given a new life after over thirty years. I have seen the time and painstaking effort put in by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur over the past one year to work closely with me to ensure that the film is restored keeping in mind my original vision.”

More about Ishanou

The story of Ishanou revolves around Tampha, a young woman with a devoted husband and a young daughter. She lives in the peaceful valley of Manipur, usually preoccupied with mundane matters of daily life. However, she starts acting strangely all of a sudden - she starts talking to flowers, having dizzy spells, and leaving the house in the middle of the night. The family ardently seeks a cure for her illness, until they realise that she is not ill at all; rather, she is answering the call of a divine spirit who has chosen her.

The film features Anoubam Kiranmala, Kangabam Tomba, Baby Molly, Manbi, Soraisam Dhiren and Baby Premita in major roles. The story, screenplay and costumes are by M. K. Binodini Devi. Ishanou was first released in the year 1990.