Anand Patwardhan’s Vasudhaiva Kudumbakam(The World is Family), a deeply personal history of the filmmaker’s family that is intertwined with the history of the nation, has been chosen for the Best Long Documentary at the 16th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK), organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. The award carries a cash prize of ₹2 lakh, which the filmmaker donated to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) for the victims of the Wayanad landslides. Mr. Patwardhan also won the Kumar Talkies Award for Best editing.
Ranajit Ray’s Putulnama (Dolls Don’t Die), on the daily struggles of puppet artistes, won the award for the Second Best Long Documentary. It also won the Jury Award for Best Cinematography. The special mention in the Long Documentary category went to Nishtha Jain and Akash Basumatari’s Farming the Revolution, a chronicle of the peaceful farmers’ protests against a set of laws enacted by the Union government. Divyam Jain’s Picturing Life won the Jury Award for the Best Sound.
Ranajit Ray receiving the award for the Second Best Long Documentary for Putulnama (Dolls Don’t Die).
Ritam Chakraborty’s Salvation Dream, a poignant exploration of a man’s last days, won the Best Short Documentary Award. The film also won the Jury Award for Best Cinematography and Best Sound. Prachee Bajania’s Umbro (The Threshold), a celebration of friendship between a group of women in a small town, won the Second Best Short Documentary Award. Sneha Malakar and Srishti Garg’s Jhaal won the Special Jury Mention, while Pranav Patil won the Best Editing Award for P For Paparazzi.
Vishwas K.’s Waterman, about a child in a water scarce neighbourhood who discovers a superpower, won the award for the Best Short Fiction. Shivam Shankar’s Gore Goat Ghost won the Second Best Short Fiction Award. Soumyajit Ghosh Dastidar’s Flowering Man won the Special Jury Award.
Vishwas K. receiving the Award for Best Short Fiction for Waterman.
Febin Martin’s Hitham (The Choice) won the Best Campus Film Award while Pramod Satchidanandan’s Mutton Cutter won the Special Jury Award. The winners in the various competition categories were presented awards on Wednesday without an official ceremony, which was cancelled after the government declared a two-day State mourning as a mark of respect to the people who lost their lives in the landslides. Urmi Juvekar, Jury Chairperson, Fiction and Rakesh Sharma, Jury Chairperson, Non-Ficton, presented the awards.
