Amidst a tough competition this year, Prateek Vats’ Eeb Allay Ooo! and Tamara Kotevska and Ljubo Stefanov’s Macedonian documentary Honeyland emerged as top winners at the 21st Mumbai Film Festival.
Described by the jury as “a comedy with deep emotions, and a film that often reminds us of our primal instincts”, Eeb Allay Ooo! won the Golden Gateway in the India Gold, a section for contemporary Indian films. Receiving the award, Mr. Vats thanked his crew and said no film is possible without a team. The film also won the Young Critics’ Choice Award, and the leading performer, Shardul Bhardwaj, won the Best Actor (male).
North Macedonia’s official entry to the 92nd Academy Awards, Honeyland, was applauded by Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad, the head of International Competition jury, as “a story that brings us to a brink of fear, where we are drawn into the protagonist’s simple but complex life.” Mr. Stefanov, who was not present at the ceremony, described the documentary as “a story that tells you how greed works on a very simple level,” in an interview with The Hindu .
Gitanjali Rao’s animated film, Bombay Rose , which won the Silver Gateway in the India Gold category, was lauded as a “beautiful story of love with delightful colours and soundtrack, which captures the essence of a city.” Accepting the award, Ms. Rao said, “The film is in Los Angeles and Chicago right now, but we chose to stay in Mumbai and be here.” The film also won the Manish Acharya Award for New Voices in Indian Cinema, along with Achal Mishra’s Gamak Ghar .
Rodd Rathjen’s Buoyancy won the Silver Gate award in the International Competition category. The jury said the film “throws light on an urgent issue: modern slavery”. While accepting the award, Mr. Rathjen said, “The film deals with a really important issue and any exposure it creates is important for us.”
Suhaib Gasmelbari’s Talking About Trees won the Grand Jury Prize in the International Competiton, while Saurav Rai’s Nimtoh won the same award in India Gold category. Festival director Anupama Chopra announced that the 22nd edition will take place from November 5 to 12.
