Morocco-born French director Robin Campillo’s drama film 120 BPM won the coveted Golden Peacock Award at the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which concluded in Goa on Tuesday evening.
The film, set in France in the 1990s, deals with homosexuality and the AIDS epidemic. The film had its India premiere at IFFI 2017.
The Golden Peacock carries a cash prize of ₹40 lakh, to be shared equally between the producer and the director. The Best Actor (Male) Award went to Nahuel Perez Biscaryat for his portrayal of AIDS activist Sean Dalmazo. In a video address, Mr. Biscayart dedicated the award to those afflicted by HIV/AIDS.
Chinese Vivian Qu won the Best Director Award for her 2017 film Angels Wear White . The film is about the travails of two teenage girls who are assaulted by a middle-aged man in a seaside town in China. Vivian’s hard-hitting social drama provides a social context for violence against women.
The Best Actor (Female) award went to Parvathy T.K. for her portrayal of a nurse who wages a battle for the release of her husband held hostage by the rebel army in war-torn Iraq in Mahesh Narayanan’s Malayalam film Take Off .
Mr. Narayanan also walked away with the Special Jury Award for the film, which is his directorial debut.
