Written and directed by Lakshmipriya Devi, the film first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, kickstarting an impressive festival journey that included screenings at the Warsaw International Film Festival
The release of Boong marks a historic milestone for Indian cinema, as the film recently became the first Indian film to win the prestigious British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA). The recognition placed the Manipuri-language film on the global stage, highlighting the power of regional Indian storytelling.
Written and directed by Lakshmipriya Devi, the film first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, kickstarting an impressive festival journey that included screenings at the Warsaw International Film Festival, São Paulo International Film Festival, Adelaide Film Festival and Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, among others. Each stop strengthened its reputation as a tender, emotionally resonant narrative rooted in authenticity.
Speaking about the film and her own journey at the film’s press conference today, the filmmaker said, “There have been too many boxes that I have been fit into. From North eastern to female. It becomes too many things, but I was never looking at myself like that. Also, particularly having come from Manipur, women are very strong, so you particularly feel very bad for men there. The challenge had nothing to do with the situations or the filming, the challenge was only to do with myself. I had been on the sets of some really big films, so this was like a really small film in comparison to them.”
When asked about the idea of grief and if she’s planning a second part because life goes on, the filmmaker said, “I’m not planning anything (laughs). Everywhere, especially at children’s film festival, in Europe, the age limit is seven and above. Cute little kids at the screening were literally only jumping on me. They were asking for Boong part two.”
On crossing borders and boundaries of gender
I don’t know how I did it. It just came out fluently. I have experienced a lot of these things personally. I have crossed the border just like how Boong did. Whatever I have gone through, I have put it in this- Discrimination and the gender community in Manipur, who I absolutely look up to. It is none other like them in the rest of India. They are very empowering, not only for their own community but also for the rest of Manipur. There was no one liner. I wrote it like a diary.
This is not the first Manipuri or Assamese film which has gone to the big festivals. It all has to do with the timing of the two pandemics- Covid and Social Media. Rima’s film, and then there are films that went to Toronto and Cannes. A small trivia but it’s written by my aunt who said I never did anything for Manipur. She made me feel guilty every time I went home.
What the film is about
_Boong_ is a Manipuri story about a young boy (played by Gugun Kipgen) whose desires to reunite his broken family. Boong is raised by his single mother Mandakini (Bala Hijam Ningthoujam), and he goes on a poignant quest with his best friend to find his missing father. It touches on significantly important issues of hope, resilience and the bonds of child and mother.
End of Article
