INTERNATIONAL JURY FOR THE FIRST FEATURE FILMS OF DIRECTORS DECISION ON AWARDS AND CITATIONS

This year MFF carries one of the richest cash awards for its International Competition for Directors who are Debuting Feature Films with a cash prize of US$ 100,000 (approx. Rs. 50, 00,000).  Additional awards include the Golden Gateway of India trophy for the Best Film, the Silver Gateway of India trophy and cash prize of USD $50,000 (approx. Rs. 25, 00,000) for the Jury Grand Prize. The best talent from these films will be awarded the Silver Gateway of India trophy and all films in this category are Indian premiers. Lastly, this year MAMI is introducing the Audience Choice Award [Silver Gateway of India trophy and cash prize of USD $20,000 (approx. Rs. 10, 00,000)].  Films from all sections except the retrospective and tributes are eligible.

THE BEST FILM – WHITE LIGHTNIN - UK

The International Jury for the First Feature Films of Directors of the 11th Mumbai Film Festival award the Golden Gateway of India for the Best First Film of the Director to WHITE LIGHTNIN directed by Dominic Murphy.

Golden Gateway of India and cash prize of US $ 50,000 to the director of the film Dominic Murphy

Cash prize of US $ 50,000 to the producers of the film Mike Downey and Sam Taylor

Citation:  The Best First Feature Film award is given to WHITE LIGHTNIN for its boldness, innovation and originality in story telling technique.

JURY GRAND PRIZE – LA PIVELLINA (THE LITTLE ONE) – AUSTRIA-ITALY

The International Jury for the First Feature Films of Directors of the 11th Mumbai Film Festival award the Jury Grand Prize to LA PIVELLINA (THE LITTLE ONE) directed by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel.

Silver Gateway of India and cash prize of US $ 25,000 to the directors of the film Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, to be shared equally between the directors.

Cash prize of US $ 25,000 to the producer of the film Rainer Frimmel

Citation:  The Jury Grand Prize is given to LA PIVELLINA (THE LITTLE ONE) for the use of real life performers and for its humanity.

THE BEST DIRECTOR – ADRIA’N BINIEZ FOR THE FILM ‘GIGANTE’ (Uruguay-Germany-Argentina-Netherlands)

The International Jury for the First Feature Films of Directors of the 11th Mumbai Film Festival award the Silver Gateway of India for the Best Director to Adria’n Biniez for his first feature film GIGANTE

Citation: The Best Director Award is given to Adria’n Biniez for the selection and crafting of images into a story.

THE BEST ACTRESS - PAPRIKA STEEN FOR THE FILM ‘APPLAUS’ (Denmark)

The International Jury for the First Feature Films of Directors of the 11th Mumbai Film Festival award the Silver Gateway of India for the Best Actress to PAPRIKA STEEN for her film APPLAUSE

Citation: The Best Actress Award is given to PAPRIKA STEEN for the courage and ferocity of her performance in the film APPLAUSE

THE BEST ACTOR – EDWARD HOGG for the film WHITE LIGHTNIN (U.K.)

The International Jury for the First Feature Films of Directors of the 11th Mumbai Film Festival award the Silver Gateway of India for the Best Actor to EDWARD HOGG for his film WHITE LIGHTNIN

Citation: The Best Actor Award is given to EDWARD HOGG for bringing humanity to a dangerous and unstable character.

THE JURY AWARD – MARK GYORI FOR CAMERA AND GYORGY KOVACF FOR SOUND IN THE FILM KATALIN VARGA (Romania-UK-Hungary)

The International Jury for the First Feature Films of Directors of the 11th Mumbai Film Festival award the Silver Gateway of India to MARK GYORI for his Camera and GYORGY KOVACF for Sound in the film KATALIN VARGA

Citation:  The Jury Award is given to MARK GYORI and GYORGY KOVACF for the assimilation of sight and sound in the film KATALIN VARGA.

DIMENSIONS MUMBAI AWARDS AND CITATIONS

The Best Film in Dimensions Mumbai Competition

11th Mumbai Film Festival award the Silver Gateway of India for the Best Film in Dimensions Mumbai-Short Film Competition to SAGAR SETU  Directed by  Chandni Arora and Archana Phadke .     

Silver Gateway of India and cash prize of Rs.1,00,000 to the director of the film,to be shared equally between the directors.                     

Citation: The Best first feature film award is given to SAGAR SETU for capturing the quintessential contrasts and aspiration of the city with emotional precision, tenderness and humour and with visual warmth.                                  

The Second Best Film in Dimensions Mumbai Competition

11th Mumbai Film Festival award the Silver Gateway of India for the Second Best Film in Dimensions Mumbai-Short Film Competition to MUMBAI LEGO Directed by Sahil Shah . 

Silver Gateway of India and cash prize of Rs.50,000 to the director of the film.              

Citation: The Second Best Film in Dimensions Mumbai is given to MUMBAI LEGO for capturing the ironic textures and emotional upheavals of the city through unique and sustained formal experimentation and with great wit.   

Special mention by the Dimensions Mumbai Jury:

11th Mumbai Film Festival Dimensions Mumbai-Short Film Competition Jury would like to make a special mention about UDAAN Directed by Abhay Kumar for its contemporary narrative approach, unpretentious style and naturally rendered characterization.  The film is awarded a Certificate of Merit

11th Mumbai Film Festival Dimensions Mumbai-Short Film Competition Jury would like to make a special mention about KALA KHATTA Directed by Advait Chandan for it's charming story, wonderful acting and excellent command of cinematic language. The film is awarded a Certificate of Merit.

P7 Audience Award went to the film  ‘Road To Sangam’ directed by Amit Rai starring Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Pawan Malhotra

A simple story of a God fearing, devout Muslim mechanic named Hashmat Ullah (Paresh Rawal) who has been entrusted the job of repairing an old V8 ford engine, not knowing the historic significance that it once carried the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi which were immersed in the holy river 'Sangam'.

MYC Jury Report

After a weeklong exposure to international cinema, 20 young critics had a tough time selecting an esteemed winner for the Mumbai Young Critics Jury award. The jury viewed 27 movies from the two categories i.e. International Competition and Above the Cut. After watching and re-watching the selected films, and with constant discussions, arguments and debates, the winning movie was finally selected.

The Mumbai Young Critics’ jury award goes to ‘Whisper With the Wind’ by Shahram Alidi for it’s exceptional use of cinema as an artistic medium of expression. Though the story is deeply rooted in the social and political aspirations of Kurdish people, it strikes a chord universally. The simplicity of narrative deserves a special mention because it reassures the fact that cinematic excellence is not dependent on the complexity of the theme. The Jury was particularly impressed by the way war-ravaged countryside of Iraq was poetically depicted in the film. 

Mumbai Young Critics Jury would like to make a special mention of ‘Women Without Men’ by Shirin Neshat, which was an equally strong contender for the title. The film sensitively handles a difficult theme of womens’ quest for her own identity against the turbulent democracy of Iran. 

And finally, the first Mumbai Young Critics Jury would like to share that it has been a wonderful journey and a privilege to be a part of the 11th Mumbai Film Festival.