Happy and honoured to have represented this story: Actor Laibi Phanjoubam

Panjim

Happy and honoured to have represented this story: Actor Laibi Phanjoubam
A 60 year old Ms. Laibi Phanjoubam runs a handloom and weaving craft shop in a remote village called Andro nestled in the northeast state of Manipur. On the face of it, it seems quite an ordinary story. But Ms Laibi Phanjoubam is no ordinary woman. She runs an all-female football club fighting against the entrenched patriarchy, economic hardships and orthodoxy of her ancient village.Her trail-blazing tale in a small newspaper article is what caught the National Award winning Director Ms. Meena Longjam’s eye, which today has been brought on the silver screen as Andro Dreams. The documentary is the story of Laibi, an old woman with a spirited soul, and her three decade old, an all girls’ football club Andro Mahila Mandal Association Football Club (AMMA-FC). It captures their challenges and struggles with Nirmala, their most promising young football player in the spotlight.The Manipuri Film Andro Dreams, a cinematic chronicle of 63 minutes, opened the Non Feature Film Section of the Indian Panorama at 54th IFFI. The avant-gardist documentary is led by a trinity of a female director, producer and cast.
“It is a story of our people, who are unheard and not represented in other media,” said Longjam in her media interaction organized by PIB at 54th International Film Festival of India, in Goa. She added that her “accidental” directorial ventures are an endeavor to show the lives of people of Manipur who remain obscured in the main media. “Andro Dreams captures the real life of Laibi and the girls of her football club fighting against all odds”, said the director of this passion-fuelled project.Talking on the genre of documentary film-making, Longjam elaborated that, “making a documentary requires building a relationship with the subject over a long period of time and it cannot be a one-off project.” Meena Longjam is a legend-in-the-making, as she became the first Manipuri woman to win a National Award for her other film “Auto Driver” earlier.“Women are “silent pillars” of society and I want to bring as many to the forefront as possible and provide them the required opportunities. I want to encourage, motivate and support the incredible talent that has skills but lack the funding”, said Jani Viswanath, the executive producer of Andro Dreams, on her motivation to fund such films.