Spanish, Bangladeshi movies jointly win Best Film award in KIFF

Upon Entry of Spain and Kura Pokkhir Shunye Ura (The Golden Wings of Watercocks) of Bangladesh jointly won the Best Film award in the international category on Thursday, as the curtain fell on the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival. Upon Entry is about the unexpected interrogation a couple from Barcelona has to go through after landing in New York with pre-approved immigration visas, while Kura Pokkhir Shunye Ura follows the journey of a peasant affected by the fury of nature.

Muhammad Quayum, director of the Bangladeshi film, who was present at the venue, said this award is a recognition of independent filmmakers of his country. The director duo of Upon Entry, Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastian Vasquez, thanked the festival directorate and the jury from their homes virtually. The Best Film gets Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award (international competition in moving images) and prize money of Rs 51 lakh. The Best Director award went to Virna Molina and Ernesto Ardito of Argentina for their film Hitler’s Witch. They also received a purse of Rs 21 lakh. Molina, who donned the jersey of her country’s World Cup-winning football team of Lionel Messi while climbing the podium, struggled hard to hold her tears while receiving the trophy. “As citizens of the Third World, we have to work under so much pressure, the struggle is intense. Argentina winning the World Cup trophy is one manifestation of our struggle. Winning this award for our film against patriarchy, Nazism and hatred is another achievement for us,” she said. Iranian entry in the international competition category, Shokoube Khamoush (Silent Glory), directed by Nahid Hassanzadeh, got the Special Jury honour. “I want to present this trophy to Iranian people who are fighting for life and freedom,” an emotional Hassanzadeh said as the audience gave her a standing ovation. The Hiralal Sen Memorial Award for Best Film in Indian languages went to Muthayya, a Telugu movie made by Bhaskhar Maurya who said this honour will help regional cinema grow and do more meaningful work. The Special Jury award in the Indian language film category was conferred on Chhaad (the Terrace), the debut film of Indrani Chakraborty starring Paoli Dam. The Asian Select NETPAC Award for Best film went to DOV (Fortune), a film from Tajikistan. Director Muhiddin Muzaffar said it was a huge honour and he dedicates this to the people of Tajikistan. Awards were also given away in the Best Indian documentary, and Best Indian short film sections. Minister of youth and sports, Arup Biswas, said 15,000-20,000 people attended the festival every day, which is unparalleled in any other film fest. “We combined art and populism. We brought out film festivals from the clutches of the avant-garde and made it people-centric while not diluting its character and nature,” Biswas said. Minister of state for information and cultural affairs, Indranil Sen, said 183 films were screened at 10 venues in the festival which was held from December 15-22. Adding lustre to the evening, Bengali film personalities such as actors Rituparna Sengupta and Paoli Dam, director Aniruddha Roychowdhury and KIFF Chairman Raj Chakraborty were present at the glittering function. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.