Girls Will Be Girls, the debut production of actor-couple Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal, has won two awards at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
Documentary Nocturnes, an India-US co-production, also bagged an honour at the festival's annual awards, held in Park City, Utah.
Girls Will Be Girls, directed by Shuchi Talati, took home the Audience Award for World Cinema Dramatic Competition, while its lead actor Preeti Panigrahi won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting.
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Nocturnes, directed by Anirban Dutta, won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Craft.
According to the makers, Girls Will Be Girls is set in a boarding school in a small Himalayan hill town in northern India. It follows the journey of Mira, a 16-year-old girl, whose rebellious awakening is intertwined with her mother's unfulfilled coming-of-age experiences.
The film is an Indo-French co-production, a collaboration between Chadha and Fazal's joint venture Pushing Buttons Studios, and Blink Digital, Crawling Angel Films and Dolce Vita Films.
In a joint statement, Chadha and Fazal said they never expected an "overwhelming response" for their debut production at Sundance.
"This experience reinforces our belief in the power of storytelling and the need to champion diverse narratives that resonate globally. As actors, we've always craved powerful stories but getting those opportunities wasn't always in our hands. That's why it's heartening to see our new actors receiving this global acclaim. This recognition motivates us to continue pushing boundaries and telling new stories," they said.
Girls will be Girls was a deeply personal and rewarding experience, said Talati.
"The film's success at Sundance is a testament to the collaborative efforts of a dedicated team. Richa has protected this story and film like a lioness. It's heartening to see our story resonate with audiences and critics alike, and I hope it sparks important conversations about coming-of-age experiences that we don't often get to see on screen," she said.
Nocturnes, a collaboration between Dutta's Metamorphosis Film Junction and US-based Sandbox Films, is set in the dense forests of the Eastern Himalayas.
"In the dark of night, two curious observers shine a light on this secret universe," according to the gala's official website.
The 2024 edition of the Sundance Film Festival is presented by Sundance Organisation, a nonprofit that discovers and supports independent artists, and introduces audiences to their work.
