TWO BENGALI FILMMAKERS WIN BIG AT KIFF

At the 27th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), which ended on Sunday, two monochrome films directed by Bengali filmmakers were named best in the  Asian Select Section and best in the Indian Language Films competition. 'Jhilli', a film set on the Dhapa dumping ground, was awarded the best film prize at the International Competition: Innovation in Moving Images, which was held at the Cannes Film Festival. It has the biggest prize money of any international Film Festival at Rs 51 lakh.

Aparna Sen's 'The Rapist' had a long, serpentine queue at the Nandan-Rabindra Sadan premise just before the awards ceremony. On the Final day, many sat on the aisle or stood in front of the gates to see the movie. Many were impressed by the KIFF team's ability to screen all 128 of the 26th  edition's films and all 163 of the 27th  edition's films without any interruptions. "Since we hosted the 27th KIFF in April, we will have some months to coordinate and get good cinema for the next edition," KIFF chairperson Raj Chakraborty remarked. "The final decision will be made by the committee."

For Bengali filmmaker Ishaan Ghose, who happens to be the son of renowned Bengali film director Goutam Ghose, winning this year's Best Foreign Language Film Award will be an enormous boost to the industry. Being in the running with films like the Cannes-winner "Common Room Six" makes a big difference." "Winning this award is surreal," the 34-year-old director remarked.

Ola Jankowsa, a Polish director, won the best director award for her film 'Anatomia' with a cash prize of Rs. 21 lakh (Anatomy). The Special Jury Award went to Mehdi Hmli's Tunisian film Streams, which was directed by him.

Amartya Bhattacharya's Odia film 'Adieu Godard' won the Hiralal Sen Memorial Award for best film in the Indian Languages' Films category. Shot in Odisha's countryside, it was filmed in monochrome Kisaloy Roy composed the music. and Rupam Islam provided the sound effects.

"The rural element of the narrative allowed me to create the contrast between country and urban space by using a desaturated tone. Bhattacharya said he needed this contrast since he was "jumping between the two narratives."

The award-winning Bengali film 'Manikbabur Megh,' directed by Abhinandan Banerjee and shot in monochrome, depicts the poetic relationship between a man (Manikbabu) and a cloud.  Banerjee's monochromatic world for Manikbabu grew "organically" out of the bright beginning and end of the movie.