Imphal: Acclaimed Manipuri filmmaker Meena Longjam's film 'Andro Dreams' has won an award for the best documentary segment at a film festival held in Mumbai. The film tells the story of a girls' football club in Andro, a remote village in the East Imphal district of Manipur.
Meena, who has done doctorate in Mass Communication, received this prestigious award at a grand ceremony in Mumbai on Sunday. Describing the director's winning the award as another highlight of Manipuri cinema, Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS) secretary Sunju Bachaspatimayum congratulated her and the entire team of 'Andro Dreams' for their achievement.
On receiving the award, Meena said that 'Andro Dreams' is the story of a spirited old woman, Libi, and her three-decade-old girls' football club, battling economic challenges, patriarchal system, and conservatism in Andro, a village in Manipur. Meena, an assistant professor and head of the department of cultural studies at Manipur Sanskriti University, whose achievement comes days before the 69th National Film Awards ceremony to be held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. Besides, two renowned Manipuri filmmakers - Mayangalambam Romy Meitei and Saikhom Ratan will receive awards for their films 'Ikhoigi Yam' and 'Beyond Blast' respectively.
Meena has won many awards in her career as a film producer. The most prominent award on the list is her 2015 win for the documentary film 'Auto Driver', which featured the struggle of Imphal's first woman auto-rickshaw driver. Her movies focus on women's empowerment. Meena's second documentary 'Achoubi in Love', which has traveled to over 30 national and international film festivals, follows his protagonist Achoubi's fight to save the indigenous Meitei Sagol ponies.
'Andro Dreams' is about the struggle of two brave heroes. One of them is Libi, who is 60 years old and runs a football club and the other is Nirmala, a promising young football player. Meena said that Laibi, a resident of Andro village, has struggled with poverty, extremism, and patriarchy to successfully run this girls' football club for 22 years. Despite the lack of funding and proper equipment, this football club has consistently produced many national and international football champions.
'Andro Dreams' has been screened in many domestic and international film festivals. It was also selected at the IDS-FFK Festival in Kerala, the Korean International Ethnographic Film Festival, and Festival International de Cine de Fusagasuga' 2023.
