Russian movie ‘August 17′ bags top honour at XIth MIFF

MUMBAI - Russian film “August 17″ directed by Alexander Gutman won the Golden Conch for the Best Documentary while “The Spell” directed by Umesh Kulkarni was adjudged the Best Fiction Film at the XIth Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) which concluded here Tuesday.

“August 17″ which traces the life of Boris Bezotechestvo, who was sentenced to life imprisionment in a tiny cell, earned the jury’s unanimous appreciation for its rigorous, transformative treatment of the unlimited human spirit in an extremely limited space.

Ritu Sarin and Tonam Tenzing’s documentary, “The Sun Behind The Clouds” bagged the Silver Conch for “upholding the spirit of liberty and maintaining a sense of balance while bringing about different perspective within the Tibetan struggle, the Dalai Lama’s efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully and the reaction of the younger generation to the new stance.”

Anwar Jamal’s “Anwar - Dream of a Dark Night” and Deepa Bhatia’s “Nero’s Guests” won a special mention.

In the ‘Documentary under 30 minutes category’ - “Vagabond - A Nomad In Spirit And In Reality” and “I Found a Thread”, shared the Silver Conch award. “Vagabond” gets the award for “sensible portrayal of a very difficult and traumatic episode of contemporary Indian history.” “I Found a Thread” rekindles the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi to the contemporary society.

In the fiction category, Vinoo Choliparambil’s “Vitthal” which dealt with child psychology and his moods and emotional struggles, bagged the Silver Conch while Geetu Mohan Das’s “Are You Listening?” and Alex Holmes “Ali And The Ball” (Australia ) won special jury mention.

Deepa Bhatia’s “Nero’s Guests” received the Critics Award and a Certificate of Merit for revealing the reality of India’s agriculture sector in a unique manner.

Whistling Woods International’s production “Bejinxed” won the Best Student Film award instituted by the Indian Documentary Producers’ Association. The award carries the IDPA Trophy and a cash prize of Rs.25,000.

Shaji Pattanam’s “The Hunted-In search of Home and Hope” was adjudged the best debut film of a director. Comprising a trophy and Rs.100,000, this award is instituted by the Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari of the Maharashtra government.

Sanjay Jangir’s “Wait and Path”, which traces the initial frustration and later blossoming of hope of a differently-abled person won the Golden Conch in the Best Animation Film Category along with a cash prize of Rs.300,000.

National Institute of Design’s “Ukadi Pukadi” won the Silver Conch while Makrand Joshi’s “Lost Home” which traces how wildlife finds concrete jungles more formidable won the special mention in the animation category.

The XIth MIFF international jury included: Trinh T. Min-ha (USA), Gianfranco Rosi (Italy), Peter Van Huystee (Holland), S. Krishnaswamy and Asha Parekh (India).

The awards were given away at a glittering finale ceremony in the presence of Maharashtra Governor K. Sankarnarayanan, Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting Chaudhary Mohan Jatua, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minsiter Chhagan Bhujbal and other prominent dignitaries.

The 11th edition of MIFF saw over 850 films from more than 35 countries competing in various categories during the past one week.