'Goddesses' bags Golden Conch award at Mumbai festival

Mumbai, Feb 10 (IANS) Chennai-based producer Leena Manimekalai's documentary 'Goddesses' has won the Golden Conch for the Best Indian Documentary Film at the Mumbai International Film Festival-2008 (MIFF), which concluded here late Saturday night.

The documentary is about emancipation of three material goddesses steeped in Tamil traditions. The Golden Conch carried a citation and a cash prize of Rs.250,000 ($6321).

Two Polish short films - 'One Day In People's Poland' and 'Beyond The Wall' - were adjudged second best to bag the Silver Conch. It carries a citation and cash reward of Rs.100,000 ($2500).

The Best Documentary Film (over one hour duration) award went to an Egyptian movie 'Salata Baladi' (House Salad) directed by Nadia Kamel.

The prestigious V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on the well-known Manipuri director and musician Aribam Syam Sharma. When Kiran Shantaram presented the award to him Sharma received a roaring standing ovation at the NCPA's Tata Auditorium, Nariman Point in south Mumbai.

In the Indian category, the Golden Conch for Best Documentary Film went to K. Stalin's film, 'India Untouched-Stories Of A People Apart,' which examines the deeply rooted caste system in India. The award carries a cash prize of Rs.150,000 ($3,796).

Vinod Raja's film, 'Mahua Memoirs' bagged the Silver Conch for second Best Documentary Film. It deals with the exploitation of tribals due to the developmental process. The award carries a cash prize of Rs.75,000.

The Golden Conch for Best Fiction film went to Rahi Anil Barve's 'Manjha', a fictional expression of child sexual abuse.

The Indian Jury Award was shared between Shyamal Karmarkar's film, 'I Am The Very Beautiful' and P. Baburaj & C. Saratchandran's 'Thousand Days And A Dream'.

The other important award winning documentaries are: 'View From A Grain Of Salad', 'Kramasha', 'Undertakers', 'Barehanded', 'Flow: For Love of Water' and 'Ink'.

No movie was found good enough for the top honours in the animation films category so the Golden Conch and Silver Conch were not awarded in this category.

With these awards, the curtains came down on the seven-day MIFF-2008 in the presence of the festival director Kuldeep Sinha, and jurists like Aruna Raje-Patil and Aijaz Gul.