GUWAHATI: Manipuri-language film “Boong” won the Best Children and Family Film category award at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) 2026 on Sunday.
Backed by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani-founded Excel Entertainment, it is the first Indian film ever to win an award in this category.
Filmmaker Lakshmipriya Devi made her directorial debut with the film.
“Thank you to the jury members and BAFTA for giving our very small film such big love – a film that is rooted in a place which is very troubled, very much ignored and very underrepresented in India. It’s a homage to my homeland Manipur,” Devi said.
“I just want to use this opportunity to say that we pray for peace to return to Manipur. We pray that all the internally displaced children, including the child actors in the film, regain their joy, innocence and dream once again…Thank you, BAFTA, for giving us not only an award but this stage to express our hope,” she further stated.
Farhan Akhtar congratulated Devi and Boong’s cast and crew on creating a “beautiful and heartwarming gem of a film” and getting the recognition. “Feel so proud to be a part of this film and to see it honoured on the @BAFTA stage was truly an unforgettable moment. Thank you to the jury. This means a lot to the dreamers and storytellers back home,” he posted on X.
Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh said Devi’s victory exemplified her commitment to impactful filmmaking, with Boong claiming the top honor in the Best Children & Family Film category, bringing accolades to Manipur and India.
The Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS) was equally ecstatic.“It’s a proud moment that Boong has been able to do what ‘Imagi Ningthem’ did in 1982 when it had won the Golden Montgolfiere (Grand Prix) at the Festival des 3 Continents in France. Boong winning the award will inspire the present generation to make it big post-50 years of Manipuri cinema,” said MSFDS secretary Sunzu Bachaspatimayum.
Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024, Boong narrates a young boy’s emotional journey as he seeks to reunite his broken family. The film was set in the Khurkhul village in Imphal West and the India-Myanmar border town of Moreh.
It was shot months before the ethnic violence engulfed Manipur. People cutting across communities had come together during its making.