: Another Time , the first feature film by Iranian Nahid Hassanzadeh, won the best film award at the 22nd Kolkata International Film Festival. The best director award went to 30-year-old Chinese filmmaker Yao Tingting, for his directorial debut, the feature film Yesterday Once More .
Speaking to The Hindu , one of the members of the jury, national award-winning actor Archana, described Another Time as a “dignified film and a bold attempt in Iranian cinema”. She said that the film “conveys the culture and tradition of Iran without any exaggeration in a very realistic manner”.
Accepting the award, midwife-turned-filmmaker Nahid Hassanzadeh spoke about the difficulties in making films and how, as midwife and director, she has been “involved in the issues and problems of women in the country [Iran]”. The film’s plot is based around Ghadir, a chemical plant worker who, after being imprisoned without trial for a year, returns home and finds his unmarried daughter has given birth to a child, a social taboo.
Women directors fetedThe International Competition for Women Directors had 15 films, which includes one film from India. The first feature film by filmmakers Mili Ben Hayi and Tamar Shippony from Israel, Cheer Me Up , got Special Jury Award at the festival.
Speaking about the festival, Ms. Archana said it was the finest festival for it provides a wonderful opportunity for women and celebrates their spirit of creation.
“Some of the films were really good, some not so… You see, filmmaking is not easy. It is very difficult,” Marion Hansel, Belgian Film Director and producer and chairperson of the jury said, adding that though the jury members came from different cultures, they understood the common language of cinema.
Awards in the Asian Select category went to Singing in the Graveyards , a Malaysian film by Bradley Liew, and Lady of the Lake by India’s Haobram Paban Kumar. Turkish film My Father’s Wing got the best film award in the Cinema International category.
Shorts and documentariesThe films awarded in the short film and documentary film categories were no less interesting. Tau-Tai (‘Seed’), a film by Asok Vailou from Kolkata’s Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, was awarded the best short film. The 13-minutes-33-second film revolves around Vio, a militant who comes home to a village in Manipur on a short vacation and sees the impact of the Indian Army’s counter insurgency operation in the State through the life of his younger sister.
