Water honoured in Bangkok film fest

Water honoured in Bangkok film fest

Bangkok: Director Deepa Mehta was celebrating on Saturday after her problem-plagued film Water finally found its way to success, winning best film award at the Bangkok International Film Festival.

Water, which focuses on the plight of castigated widows in Gandhi-era India, was nearly abandoned by Mehta after protests by Hindu extremists halted filming and then became the centre of a bitter tug-of-war at the festival.

The director received death threats and was forced to shelve the movie in 2000 after Indian authorities shut down filming amid protests by Hindu extremists. She finally shot the film in Sri Lanka five years later.

In Bangkok, organisers said a Thai studio had tried to pull Water from the competition as part of a boycott of the festival being staged by the nation's film industry group which claims it was not properly consulted over the event.

But Mehta insisted the film be shown and produced a contract giving her rights to show Water at any festival, the event's director Craig Prater said.

A jury, led by Australian director Fred Schepisi, awarded the prize which Princess Ubol Ratana of Thailand presented to Mehta and Canadian David Hamilton at a star-studded awards ceremony in the capital late on Friday.

Water has already proved a smash hit in Canada, where Mehta now lives, having opened five film festivals and grossed almost $2million at the Canadian box office since November.