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MUMBAI:
The Tamil film ‘Paruthiveeran’ directed by Ameer
Sultan won the award for the Best Indian as well as the best
actress award for Priyamani while two films from the Philippines
also bagged awards at the 9th OSIAN’s-CINEFAN Festival
of Asian and Arab Cinema which concluded in the capital last
night.
More
than 140 films from around 35 countries were screened at the
Festival, which commenced in the capital on 20 July. Screenings
were held in the auditoriums of the Sirifort complex, the
Alliance Francaise, PVR Plaza and PVR Rivoli. The annual Festival
which had commenced as an Asian film festival in 1999 was
amplified from this year to become a Festival of Asian and
Arab cinema.
The
award for the Best Film in the Asian-Arab Competition went
to ‘Desert Dream’ directed by Zhang Lu which is
a co-production between Korea and France. An ethnic Korean,
the director now lives in China and the film is on the theme
of desertification and is based on the border of Mongolia
and China. His film ‘Grain in Ear’ was screened
at this Festival last year.
Lotfi
Abdeli received the Best Actor award for his role in the Tunisian
film ‘Making Of’ by Nouri Bouzid who has also done
the cinematography for the film. This film which through the
medium of making of a film also probes deeper into making
of the psyches of its characters also won the Special Jury
award.
Cherry
Pie Picache received the Best Actress award for her sensitive
and difficult role in the film ‘Foster Child’ from
Philippines directed by Brillante Mendoza about orphaned children
who are sent to foster homes before adoption.
The
Iranian film ‘Lonesome Trees’ by Saeed Ebrahimifar
on the loneliness of senior citizens shared the Special Jury
Award.
‘Paruthiveeran’
is an inter-caste love story set against the backdrop of the
warrior Thevar clan in Tamil Nadu, and also stars Karthik
who accepted the award on behalf of Priyamani.
The Best Actor award went to Kay Kay Menon for his role in
the Hindi film ‘Shoonya’ (‘Zero Zone’)
by Arindam Mitra which explores the guilt, honour, and paranoia
of a life in the public domain. Kay Kay Menon has also starred
in the film ‘Strangers’ by Anand Rai which its world
premiere at the Festival.
The
first feature-length film to be shot in the icy and hostile
regions of Ladakh, ‘Frozen’ by Shivajee Chandrabhushan
made in Hindi and Ladakhi and starring the well-known Danny
Denzongpa received a Special Jury Award.
‘Woven
Stories of the Other’ about an inter-tribal war and the
threat of extinction won the Best Film Award for debutante
Sherad Anthony Sanchez of the Philippines who has for the
first time stepped into making features after earlier making
some shorts.
The
First Features Jury also made a Special Mention for the Iraq-Kurdistan
co-production ‘Crossing the Dust’ made against the
backdrop of the American intervention in Iraq by Shawkat Amin
Korki who has also stepped into making features after several
short films.
The
Network for Promotion of Asian Films (NETPAC) Jury chose the
Malaysian film ‘Dancing Bells’ by Deepak Kumaran
Menon which looks at social and urban issues confronting ethnic
Indians who may also face racial segregation.
The
International Critics Award by the FIPRESCI jury has gone
to Thaliand’s ‘Ploy’ by Pen-ek Ratanaruang
from the Asian-Arab Competition section which is a psychological
tale of persons locked inside one hotel room. The director’s
earlier films ‘Invisible Waves’ and ‘Last Life
in the Universe’ have been shown at this Festival in
2006 and 2004 respectively.
The
members of the Asian and Arab Competition jury were Apichatpong
Weerasethakul (Thailand), Francois da Silva (France), Hala
Khalil (Egypt), Saeed Mirza (India), and Wu Tianming (China).
The First Features Jury had Amir Muhammad (Malaysia), Anurag
Kashyap (India), and Min Byung-lock (Korea). The Indian Features
jury had Bianca Taal (The Netherlands), Dorothee Wenner (Germany),
Nick Deocampo (Philippines), Peggy Chiao Hsiung-Ping (Taiwan),
and Rupa Ganguly (India). The FIPRESCI Jury had Chris Fujiwara
(USA), Klaus Eder (Germany), and H N Narahari Rao (India),
while the NETPAC Jury had Asoka Handagama (Sri Lanka), Kenji
Ishizaka, and Tiina Lokk (Estonia).
Prior
to the screening of the closing film ‘Cut and Paste’
by Egypt’s Hala Khalil who was also a member of the Asian-Arab
Competition jury, Osian’s Founder-Chairman Neville Tuli
announced that from next year, some selected films from the
annual Delhi festival would be screened in a separate fete
to be held at Osianama in Mumbai. Osian’s had recently
acquired the old Minerva theatre in Mumbai which is being
converted into a two-screen Osianama.
Renowned
artiste Usha Uthup also performed before the presentation
of awards. Apart from jury members, those who gave away the
awards at the event compered by star Rajit Kapoor included
Kirron Kher, Sarika, Gautam Ghose, Nandita Das, and Seema
Biswas.
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