Taiwanese film 'The Wall' bags top award at IFFI (Lead)

Panaji, Dec 3 (IANS) Taiwanese film 'The Wall' bagged the prestigious Golden Peacock award at the 38th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which concluded here Monday.

Panaji, Dec 3 (IANS) Taiwanese film 'The Wall' bagged the prestigious Golden Peacock award at the 38th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which concluded here Monday.

Bengali director Buddhadeb Dasgupta, chief guest at the closing ceremony, gave away the trophy.

The film directed by Lin Chin Ju - who could not attend the ceremony - was chosen from among a selection of 14 films from 13 countries for the prestigious award that carries a medal and Rs.1 million.

The Indian films in the competition were 'Ek Nadir Galpo' by Samir Chanda and 'Rathrimazha' by Lenin Rajendran.

'The Wall', set in the 1950s, tells the story of a glassblower who tries to protect a socialist revolutionary.

The award for the most promising director went to Thailand's Pongpat Wachirabunjong for his film 'Me Myself', about a man who suffers from amnesia and sets out to find his true identity. Wachirabunjong received a silver peacock and Rs.500,000 from this Goa capital's mayor Tony Rodrigues.

This years' special jury award was shared by Bangladeshi director Golam Rabbany Biplob for making 'On the Wings of Dream' and Mexican child artiste Julia Urbini for playing an imaginative girl whose dreams turn into nightmare when she starts believing that her mother is possessed by the vampire-like man next door in 'More Than Anything'.

Both got a cash prize of Rs.250,000 and a silver peacock from Goa Governor S.C. Zameer.

Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, Joint Secretary (Film) V.V. Pyarelala, Directorate of Film Festival director Neelam Kapur, Goa Entertainment Society (ESG) CEO Nandani Paliwal, Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and actress Pooja Bedi were among those who attended the award presentation function.

As many as 145 films from 46 countries were shown at the annual film fest and 14 of them were included in the competition section.

According to Kapur, ideally 21 films are shown in this section but the selectors could finalise only 14.

The ceremony was followed by the screening of the closing film, 'Fados - Melding of Culture, Customs and Sound'. Set in Lisbon, the Portuguese-Spanish film by Carlos Saura explores the intricate relationship among music, the city and Fado's evolution over the years from its African and Brazilian origins up to the new wave of modern Fadistas.

Serious movie buffs had a nice time at the festival, which allowed seasoned filmmakers, debutants and critics to exchange their viewpoints on every aspect of filmmaking.

'This time only serious film lovers are seen there. Only the serious film buffs are seen here in the premise,' said filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan.

Of all the films, screening of Pakistani movie 'Khuda Kay Liye' and the premiere of Rituparna Ghosh's 'The Last Lear' attracted largest crowds.

Compared to last year, the festival showed a marked improvement in terms of infrastructure and ambience - from venue to screens, projections, sound quality to transportation system, all aspects were world-class.

The ESG also organised a five-day cultural event outside the Panjim for the residents here and Bollywood's two popular playback singers Kunal Gaanjawala and Shaan wrapped it up Sunday evening.

While Shaan belted out his hit numbers from 'Wo pehli baar' to his latest chartbuster 'Jab se tere naina' in front of a huge gathering at the Costa Ground, Margao, which could not get enough of the singer, Kunaal enthralled his fans at the NIWS Ground, Caranzalem, with songs like 'Masha-allah' and 'Dil keh raha hai, tujhse yun rishta jod loon.'

IFFI organized a special screening of John Abraham and Arshad Warsi starrer 'Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal' for the football lovers of Goa. It was shown on a special request from Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi who could not attend the closing ceremony, as parliament was in session.

In his speech at the function, Kamat said Goa was going to be the main venue of IFFI. Kapur announced that the 39th IFFI will take place in the third week of November next year.

Your reaction

Nice
Awesome
Loved
LOL
OMG
Cry
Fail
John Abraham Thumbnail

John Abraham

Pooja Bedi Thumbnail

Pooja Bedi

Arshad Warsi Thumbnail

Arshad Warsi

Adoor Gopalakrishnan Thumbnail

Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Comments (0)

Latest Stories