5-DAY 7TH SANGAI FILM FESTIVAL FROM NOV 24

Imphal: The curtains of the Palace Auditorium of the Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS) are set to rise once again from November 24 for an eventful five days of cinema. The 7th Sangai Film Festival 2025 will bring back old, cherished narratives blended with contemporary stories, inviting cinephiles, students and families alike to experience cinema that honours the past while embracing the new. The festival is an entry free — no barriers, no tickets, only a shared love for films.

From 24 to 28 November 2025, the festival promises a journey through the evolving soul of Manipuri cinema, where earlier milestones meet the voices of a fearless new generation of filmmakers.

The festival’s programme brings together an impressive spread: Indian Panorama selections including the critically acclaimed Oitharei by Dinesh Naorem and Andro Dreams by Dr. Meena Longjam. The multi award-winning feature Oneness by Priyakanta Laishram. A curated package of 10 short films by emerging talents — “New Voices,” each piece bold, raw and hopeful. A rare treat for film history enthusiasts — six digitally remastered Manipuri celluloid classics, screened under Rediscovering Manipur in collaboration with NFAI and MSFDS, with Aribam Syam Sharma’s Orchids of Manipur opening the retrospective

Beyond regional cinema, this year’s edition broadens its horizon with four internationally acclaimed documentary features — And Towards Happy Alleys, Dolls Do Not Die, Life is Beautiful and the Sundance-winning A House Made of Splinters. Presented in collaboration with DocEdge Kolkata and the Documentary Resource Initiative, the package brings global conflicts, memories, dreams and survival to the screen.

Adding depth to the screenings, the festival will host a thought-provoking In-Conversation session titled From Idea to Screen: Financing & Finding Audience, featuring noted film personalities Nilotpal Majumdar, Ranajit Ray and Manipur’s own Romi Meitei, moderated by filmmaker and journalist Bobo Khuraijam. It will offer young storytellers a chance to listen, question and learn firsthand about the long and often unforgiving journey of filmmaking from established professionals.

Organised by MSFDS and sponsored by the Tourism Department with support from the Department of Art & Culture, Government of Manipur, the festival opens on Monday, 24 November 2025 at 10:30 AM, welcoming everyone — from seasoned filmmakers to curious students — to watch, discuss, remember and dream.

Film lovers will also have the opportunity to meet both veterans and young talents in Q&A sessions after screenings — moments of honesty where creators speak of struggles, sacrifices and the stubborn passion that keeps cinema alive.

At a time when the pace of the world leaves little room for pause, the 7th Sangai Film Festival offers five days to sit together in the dark, to feel, to reflect, and to celebrate Manipur — on screen and in spirit.

The full screening schedule and programming details are available at www.msfds.org.

Five days. Free entry. A festival for everyone who believes cinema matters. For those who come, this isn’t merely entertainment — it is heritage, inspiration and memory projected in light. And once again, Palace Audi will become what it has always been at its best: a home for stories.