Tribal Frames Manipur 2026: National Tribal Film Festival opens Nov 12

Imphal will host the second National Tribal Film Festival, titled Tribal Frames Manipur 2026, from November 12 to 15 at the Palace Auditorium of the Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS).

R Rang Peter, Director of Manipur's Department of Tribal Affairs and Hills, announced the programme at a press conference in Imphal on Monday. The department is organising the festival through its Tribal Research Institute together with MSFDS, with support from the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, EastMojo and India Today NE reported.

What will be screened

More than 28 feature films, documentaries and short films will be shown. They come from the Northeast, Ladakh, Jharkhand and other tribal regions of the country. The organisers say the aim is to give tribal filmmakers a national stage for stories told in their own languages and about their own communities.

Alongside the screenings, the four days will include:

• interactions with filmmakers, masterclasses and panel discussions;
• cultural performances;
• a special focus on cinema from Mizoram;
• a collaboration with Green Hub;
• recognition for people who have contributed to tribal cinema and indigenous visual storytelling.

Workshop for young hill filmmakers

Before the festival opens, a three-day workshop called TFM 20 Emerging Voices will run from November 10 to 12. It is meant for 20 young participants drawn from Manipur's six hill districts, and is designed to help them document stories from their own communities.

A photography exhibition, Tribal Lens 2026, will run from November 12 to 18, showing the cultures, livelihoods, landscapes and daily lives of tribal communities.

Peter said the department wanted to go beyond one-off events and build lasting platforms for cultural preservation, youth employment and creative work by tribal artists.

State cultural festival from November 15

Once the film festival ends, the department will hold the State-level Tribal Cultural Festival 2026 at the City Convention Centre in Imphal from November 15 to 18. It will feature traditional dance and music, indigenous food, handloom and handicraft sales and traditional games.

The cultural festival opens on November 15, Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, which marks the birth anniversary of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda and closes the fortnight-long Janjatiya Gaurav Pakhwada. Peter said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to join the state event by video conference.

The department has invited the public, students, artists, filmmakers and cultural groups to attend both events.

Why it matters

The festival comes as Manipur continues to recover from the ethnic violence that began in May 2023. With a training slot reserved for young people from all six hill districts and films from across India's tribal regions, it is one of the bigger cultural events on the state's calendar this season.