In keeping with the tradition of giving a new lease of life to forgotten gems of India’s film legacy, Mumbai-based Film Heritage Foundation has restored the revered Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma’s award-winning film of 1990 ‘Ishanou’.
Manipuri Film ‘Ishanou’ Becomes India’s Only Restored Film To Be Screened At Cannes 2023
‘Ishanou’ is the only Indian film to be considered under the Classic Section of the Cannes Film Festival this year.
The restoration has been officially selected for a red-carpet world premiere on May 19, 2023 at the prestigious Cannes Classic section of the Cannes Film Festival 2023. This restored film becomes the only Indian film to be considered under the Classic Section of the Cannes Film Festival this year, a segment that celebrates restored versions of all-time classics.
This is not the first restoration by the Film Heritage Foundation to mark its presence at the prestigious festival. The not-for-profit organisation founded by filmmaker and archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur had previously screened the restored version of Indian filmmaker Aravindan Govindan’s acclaimed 1978 film ‘Thamp̄’ at the 2022 Cannes Classic.
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, Film Heritage Foundation, said, “It is fantastic that Ishanou is returning to Cannes in all its glory, 32 years after it was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991. Film Heritage Foundation is so proud that our restoration of Ishanou has been selected for a world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival 2023 and that we are returning to Cannes for the second year in a row after the success of our restoration of Aravindan Govindan’s film Thamp̄ that premiered at Cannes last year.”
Aribam Syam Sharma, Producer-Director, ‘Ishanou’, added, “It has been a journey of discovery to work with Film Heritage Foundation and to see my film restored so beautifully and respectfully and 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. Ishanou came into being organically and through a natural progression of events. When I look back, I feel Ishanou happened at the right time.”
‘Ishanou’ was restored using the best surviving elements: the 16 mm original camera negative preserved at the National Film Archive of India and two 35 mm prints preserved by Aribam Syam Sharma. The film’s cast includes Anoubam Kiranmala, Kangabam Tomba, Baby Molly, Manbi, Soraisam Dhiren, Baby Premita.
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