Prakash Kamat
Panaji, November 28- Particles’, French film directed by Blaise Harrison bagged the award for Best Film in IFFI 2019.
The award comes with the Golden Peacock trophy, certificate and a cash priz e amount of Rs. 40,00,000, shared equally between the Director and the Producer. ‘Particles’ is an “ambitious yet modest film about the mysteries of being a teenager,” said the jury.
The Best Director award was given to Lijo Jose Pellissery for the film ‘Jallikattu’, who bagged the Silver Peacock Trophy and a cash prize of Rs. 15,00,000. While Usha Jadhav was awarded the Best Actor (Female) for her portrayal of ‘Prabha Mai’, in the Marathi film ‘Mai Ghatt: Crime No, 103/2005’ while Seu Jorge won the Best Actor (Male) for his portrayal of Carlos Marighella in the Brazilian movie ‘Marighella. Both received the Silver Peacock Trophy and cash Prize of Rs 10,00,000 each.
Special Jury award, which carries the Silver Peacock Award and a cash prize of Rs. 15,00,000, was awarded to Pema Tseden for his Chinese movie ‘Balloon’. The film set in Tibetan grasslands got the prize for “the beauty of the film language and the authenticity of the actors”.
Centenary award for ‘Best Debut Feature Film of a Director’ was shared between Amin Sidi Boumediene for ‘Abou Leila’ and Marius Olteanu for ‘Monsters’. Abou Leila’ tells the tale of two childhood friends who crossed the desert in search of Abu Leila, a dangerous terrorist. ‘Monsters’ tells a relationship drama in three chapters that describes the current state of a couple over 24 hours. Award carries Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs.10 lakhs. The Gujarathi movie ‘Hellaro’ directed by Abhishek Shah got special mention from jury for the “incredible music, it’s colour and graceful choreography”. Though set in a time 45 years ago, issue of woman’s empowerment portrayed in the film is even more relevant today, said the jury.
On the occassion, ICFT-UNESCO Fellini medal was awarded to International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on completion of its glorious 50 years. Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Amit Khare and Festival Director Directorate of Film Festivals Chaitanya Prasad received the award on behalf of IFFI.
Italian film ‘Rwanda’ directed by Riccardo Salvetti won The ICFT –UNESCO Gandhi Medal instituted by the International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication, Paris and UNESCO. The medal bears a portrait of Gandhi engraved by the French artist Pierre-Yves Tremois. Etched underneath is Mahatma’s message of hope : “ In the midst of darkness light prevails”
‘Bahattar Hoorain, the Indian movie directed by Sanjay P. Singh Chauhan got the special mention under ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi medal category.
The closing ceremony of IFFI 2019 was anchored by Sonali Kulkarni and Kunal Kapoor. The ceremony also witnessed enthralling performance by Hariharan and Lesle Lewis of Colonial Cousins who kept the audience spellbound with their mesmerising music while Tanushree Shankar choreographed a series of spectacular dance performances on the theme ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’.
The festival opened with the Asian premiere of Italian film ‘Despite the Fog’. 26 feature films and 15 non feature films are screened in Indian panorama section. Russia was the focus country.
Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening ceremony of IFFI Golden jubilee.
Rajinikanth was conferred the 'Icon Of Golden Jubilee Award' for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema, a first time award beginning with the 50th edition.
This year, the International Competition consisted of 15 movies out of which two are made by Indians.
Festival Kaleidoscope section of 50th IFFI showcased 20 films handpicked and curated from various parts of the world. World Panorama section had 64 films which are specially curated for the festival. IFFI also showcased 24 films which were or are in the race for the Oscars.
Eight irenowned films including one Indian movie competed for the coveted ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal.
10 Oscar Award Winning Films were screened at Oscar Retrospective section.
In a mark of respect to the women filmmakers in industry, IFFI featured 50 films from World Cinema directed by 50 strong Women Filmmakers that have won billions of hearts worldwide. A section of Films to the Indian New Wave Cinema. This selection includes 12 films produced in India from the late 1950s to the late 1970s that were distinct.
IFFI 2019 also showcased six of the best films by Amitabh Bachchan in a separate Dadasaheb Phalke Award retrospective section honoring the star’s achievement.
The Restored Classics Section showcased two pioneering films-Kalpana by Uday Shankar and Titas Ekti Nadir Naam by Ritwick Ghatak which have been restored. In order to venerate an Asian filmmaker and earmark a section to his works IFFI 50 showcased the films of Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike.
IFFI, in its 50th year also dedicated a section for films, released in 1969, which turned 50 this year. Notable Films from the host state Goa are showcased through the ‘The Goan Story’ Section consisting of six films. Spreading the message of accessibility and inclusion, IFFI also screened three films with audio description for differently abled under ‘Accessible India – Accessible Films’ section.(eom)
No comments:
Post a Comment