AR Rahman
The Colombian film ‘Embrace of the Serpent’ directed by Ciro Guerra and produced by Cristina Gallego has been awarded the Best Film Award at the 46th International Film Festival of India. Honourable Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Laxmikant Parsekar and Honourable Minister of State I&B, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore jointly presented the Golden Peacock to the Art Director of the film, Ramses Benjumea at a spectacular closing ceremony held at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Goa. The ceremony was compered by the actors Lillete Dubey and Kabir Bedi.
The world renowned and Oscar-winning music composer Mr. A. R. Rahman was the chief guest of the evening. He said, “I am so fascinated by the way the festival is being organized. I thank IFFI team for hosting the festival so beautifully. I hope that supported by festivals like IFFI, the people will come up with great cinema and also spread love all around the world.”
The Serbian film ‘Enclave’ directed by Goran Radovaovic received the Special Mention at IFFI 2015. French Actor Vincent Lindon bagged the Best Actor (Male) Award for his film ‘The Measure of a Man’ wherein he has depicted the struggle and survival of a 51 years old person who starts a new job that soon brings him face to face with a moral dilemma.
Best Actor – Female
The Best Actor (Female) award was shared by five actors of Turkish film ‘Mustang’ – a story of five sisters driven by the same desire for freedom, fight back against the limits imposed on them. Actresses Gunes Sensoy, Doga Doguslu, Tugba Sunguroglu, Elit Iscan and Ilayda Akdogan were awarded with Silver Peacock at the event.
The Bolivian film ‘Sealed Cargo’ received the Special Jury Award. Directed by Ms. Julia Vargas, the film has an energy of humour and keeps the audience stick to their seat with its dark theme and amusing characters.
British film director Peter Greenway won the Best Director Award for his film ‘Eisenstein in Guanajuato’ from Netherlands. The film is a true example of innovative cinematic vision having a rich visualistic appeal that captivates the audience till last second. The Silver Peacock was presented to the producer San Fu Maltha on behalf of Mr. Greenway.
The Bengali film ‘Cinemawala’ received the UNESCO-Fellini Medal which was firstly introduced at IFFI 2015. Film director, Kaushik Ganguly was awarded by Secretary General of the International Council of Film Television and Audiovisual Communication (ICFT), Paris, Ms. Lola Poggi Goujon along with Minister of State, I&B and Chief Minister, Goa.
The Oscar-winning Russian filmmaker & actor Mr. Nikita Mikhalkov was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Chief Minister of Goa, Minister of State I&B, Honourable Governor of Goa, Shri Mridula Sinha along with the chief guest Mr. A. R. Rahman presented the award to the legendry filmmaker. Mr. Mikhalkov said that India is a wonderful country and he feels proud being included in the list of distinguished personalities who have previously received this prestigious award.
Best Actor
Addressing the event, the Minister of State, Information & Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore said, “Cinema is a unique art. We all are bound by the universal language of cinema despite of our religion and diverse cultures. When we go to theatre, we just do not watch a film; we become a part of it. Goa is truly an international destination for film festival like IFFI. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is so proud to be collaborated with Government of Goa for this wonderful film event.”
Secretary I&B, Shri Sunil Arora said, “Cinema industry is full of surprises as it keeps changing with new films and concepts. IFFI 2015 showcased the best of cinema to the audience and the festival left a long lasting impression on audience and delegates.”
Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Laxmikant Parsekar said, “I am filled with gratitude, satisfaction and joy that IFFI 2015 has been a great success. The 46th IFFI has further enhanced the image of Goa as a global film destination. It is our responsibility to offer world-class film infrastructure for film lover and delegates and the Goa government is already in process to develop the same in next 2 years.”
International Jury members including the chairperson, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, UK based BAFTA winner director, Micheal Radford, Palestinian based Israel director, Ms. Suha Arraf, German Actress, Julia Jentsch and South Korean filmmaker, Jeon Kyu-Hwan were felicitated at the event.
The popular Sand Artist, Rahul Arya presented his mesmerising sand art performance, offering an opportunity to travel down the journey of early Indian cinema. Artists from the internationally-acclaimed Shillong Chamber Choir from North-East gave a scintillating music performance, resonating the musical journey of path-breaking Indian films. The artists were felicitated by the Minister of State, I&B.
The other dignitaries, film luminaries and international delegates who were present at the event included Chief Secretary, Government of Goa, Shri R.K Srivastava, Vice Chairman, Entertainment Society of Goa, Shri Damodar Naik, CEO, Entertainment Society of Goa, Mr. Ameya Abhyankar, Members of Steering Committee, Mr. Bharat Bala, Smt. Vani Tripathi Chairperson of the Children’s Film Society of India and actor, Shri Mukesh Khanna, A. K. Bir, Vinod Mankara, Humphery Dixon, Manoj Joshi, Satish Shah, Sudhir Mishra, Nitin Kakkar, Shareeb Hashmi, Mike Pandey, Sudhant Tari, Shreyas Talpade, Divya Dutta to name a few.
Best Director
Best Film
UNESCO Fellini Medal
