The 29th Kolkata International Film Festival, marked as the largest edition with 23 venues, wrapped up on Tuesday with a vibrant closing ceremony at Rabindra Sadan. A significant crowd gathered at Nandan to witness the announcement of the festival's best films in competition immediately after the ceremony.
The prestigious international competition in innovation in moving images witnessed the Israeli film "Children of Nobody" taking the top honour. The film delves into the challenges faced by sheltered at-risk youths, targeted by corrupt property developers. It secured the title of the best film, earning a cash prize of Rs51 lakh.
In another venue, Nandan II showcased "Gorai Phakhri" (Wild Swans), a Bodo film directed by Rajni Basumatary. The film explores the struggles of women in a patriarchal society recovering from decades of armed conflict. The festival recognized the youngest awardee, Kamil Saif, a student at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, for his short film "Last Rehearsal."
An emotional moment unfolded when Anjan Dutt received a special jury award in the international competition section for his tribute to his mentor, Mrinal Sen, titled "Chalchitra Ekhon." The acclaimed singer-songwriter-actor-director expressed gratitude to Kolkata and Mrinal Sen, stating, "This is my city, this is Mrinal-da’s city. I wanted the film to start its journey from here."
In a significant development, the Bengali Panorama section became competitive at KIFF for the first time. Director duo Rajdeep Paul and Sarmistha Maiti received the award for Best Film for "Mon Potongo," accompanied by a cash prize of Rs7.5 lakh.
The Asian Select section recognized the NETPAC Award for Best Film, presented to Nine fold Mosaic's "Broken Dreams Stories from the Myanmar Coup," a collection of nine short films capturing diverse perspectives of ordinary citizens amid extraordinary events.
Carlos Malave from Venezuela was honoured with the Best Director's trophy for his film "One Way" in the international competition section. The closing ceremony also featured the presence of filmmaker Sudhir Mishra, actor-dancer Mamata Shankar, and actress Aditi Rao Hydari.
The week-long festival celebrated diverse films, emerging talents, and cinematic achievements. The chairman of the international films jury, Russian director Pavel Lungin, commended the lively Kolkata crowd and praised the city's "beautiful food."
