Cannes 2023: Indisposed Aribam misses ‘Ishanou’ screening
The Hindu
Manipuri auteur Aribam Syam Sharma’s Ishanou screened at the Bunuel theatre on Friday as part of Cannes Classics 2023, but the indisposed 88-year-old filmmaker was unable to make it to the show
Manipuri auteur Aribam Syam Sharma’s Ishanou screened at the Bunuel theatre on Friday as part of Cannes Classics 2023, but the indisposed 88-year-old filmmaker was unable to make it to the show.
Gerald Duchaussoy, head of Cannes Classics, informed the audience that Sharma was in town but not well enough the attend the unveiling of a restoration of his 1991 film.
Ishanou, which was in Cannes official selection 31 years ago, is the only film from the northeast ever to make it to the festival.
Kangabam Tomba, lead actor of Ishanou, was at hand to represent the film. “It is like a dream for me,” he said. “I would like to thank the festival and all the people who have made this possible. Sharma is here in spirit. He is deeply disturbed by the continuing violence that has claimed over 200 lives in Manipur. His blood pressure has shot up as a result,” said Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, director at the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF).
FHF, which brought a restoration of G Aravindan’s Thampu (1978) to Cannes Classics last year, restored Ishanou at the L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in Bologna and the Prasad Corporation’s post-production studios, Chennai.
" Ishanou is a very important film, not only in the director's career but also in the larger context of cinema from the northeast," Dungarpur said.
“It was a very difficult restoration process. The negative was in a precarious state and had to be salvaged from a variety of elements,” he added.
Veteran Kannada actor, producer, and director Dwarakish was laid to rest with State honours in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Several noted personalities from the Kannada film industry paid their final respect to Dwarakish, whose mortal remains were kept at Ravindra Kalakshetra. Dwarakish passed away at the age of 81 on Tuesday.