MUMBAI: Debutant director Anup Kurian's Manasarovar has been selected to the prestigious feature film section of the Indian Panorama of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held in Goa from 29 November - 9 December 2004.

Manasarovar will be the opening film of the feature film section.

'Manasarovar' director Anup Kurian
The Indian English film, produced on a budget of Rs 2.5 million, has also been chosen for the London Film Festival to be held from 20 October - 5 November.

The 90-minute film, produced by Chicago-based Visual Possibility Inc., is the first feature film for most of its crew, many of them Kurian's 1998 batch-mates from FTII.

Manasarovar had won the prestigious Aravindan Puraskaram for the best debut director in May 2004 by a jury headed by renowned filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. In August 2004, a jury headed by noted actor, director and producer Kamalhassan selected the film for the annual Gollapudi Srinivas award. The film won over the year's mega debutant hits like Kal Ho Na Ho, Haasil and Munnabhai MBBS, among others, states an official release.

The movie features national Award-winning actor Atul Kulkarni, Neha Dubey and Zafar Karachiwala in lead roles. Shot extensively in Maharashtra, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh, Manasarovar takes you across the rugged landscapes of the Deccan Plateau, greenery of Kerala and the serenity of Dharamsala.