Asian Fest of 1st Films Awards for Firaaq, Little Zizou

Runumi G | Breaking News, Festivals & Contests, Movies, News & Events | December 10, 2008 at 11:42 pm

Great news on Firaaq front. Nandita Das’ directorial debut has won the Best Film, Best Screenplay and the Foreign Correspondents Association Purple Orchid Award for Best Film awards at the The Asian Festival of 1st Films in Singapore.

“Nandita successfully takes the theme of sectarian violence, something which is so apparent in today’s society, and looks at the impact it has on ordinary people a month after the riots in Gujarat, India in 2002,” the award announcement says.

The Best Producer award has been jointly won by Dinaz Stafford, Sooni Taraporevala & Vandana Malik for Little Zizou.

Singaporean director Eric Khoo’s My Magic, has notched up the best actor award. Bosco Francis has won the Best Actor award for his outstanding performance as a drunken father who turns to magic in order to redeem himself and win his son’s love. Bosco embraced his passion of magic in the role of the father, performing many of the ‘painful’ acts and illusions himself. About 80 per cent of the film is in Tamil.

Dante Nico Garcia has been awarded the Best Director for creating “an extraordinary love story filled with local flavour” in his film Ploning. The film was in the competition section of recent 39th IFFI in Goa.

The jury comprised Yim Ho, an award-winning director from Hong Kong, Tikoy Aguiluz, a leading figure in the alternative cinema movement in the Philippines, and Nadia Tass, a multi-award winning director and one of Australia’s most respected and unique filmmakers.

Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, who headed the Foreign Correspondents Association (FCA) jury for the FCA Purple Orchid Award, commented: “We were once again impressed by the overall level of entries, many of which will appeal to a broad international audience. That said, one film really stood out for its tight directing and thought-provoking storyline and we had a clear winner for the FCA Purple Orchid Award for Best Film in Firaaq.

The film’s focus on the impact of sectarian violence struck a chord with many jury members, who found it especially relevant in the current violent environment we live in. Told through the eyes of several different, but interlinked characters, each of the mini-stories is suspenseful and touching. This is a film I would definitely recommend people see.”

In total there were 638 submissions, from 26 countries, from which just 28 films and documentaries were nominated to compete for the winning position of the 11 awards categories.

The 11 awards, including the Foreign Correspondents Association Purple Orchid Award for Best Film, were presented at the star-studded occasion held at Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel.

The summary of awards presented at the ceremony is as follows:

Best Film
Firaaq, Nandita Das (India)

Best Producer

Joint winners:

A Decade of Love, William Ho-Hon Tam & Angel Hon (China),

and Little Zizou, Dinaz Stafford, Sooni Taraporevala & Vandana Malik (India)

Special citation:
Khastegi (Sex My Life), Esmaeil Mirzaei Ghomi & Bahman Motamedian (Iran)

Best Director
Ploning, Dante Nico Garcia (Philippines)

Best Cinematographer / Editor
Khuda Ke Liye (In the name of God), Ali Mohammad (Pakistan)

Best Male Actor
My Magic, Bosco Francis (Singapore)

Best Female Actor
The Mountain and the Song, Jia Xuhua (China)

Best Screenplay / Script
Firaaq, Nandita Das (India)

Best Documentary
Attitude, Blackie Chen (Taiwan)

Best Director of Documentary
Peeking Through Chungking Mansions, Bill Yip (Hong Kong)

Best Short Film
The Great Identity Swindle, Nikesh Shukla (UK)

Foreign Correspondents Association Purple Orchid Award for Best Film
Firaaq, Nandita Das (India)

The nominated first-time films and documentaries competed for eleven awards in the categories of: Best Film (Producer & Director), Best Director, Best Producer, Best Cinematographer or Editor, Best Actor (Female), Best Actor (Male), Best Script or Screenplay, Best Documentary, Best Director of Documentary, Best Short Film and the Purple Orchid Foreign Correspondents Association Choice Award.

Tags: Asian Festival of First Films, Firaaq, Little Zizou, nandita das, Sooni Taraporevala

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