French film on HIV bags top honours

PANAJI: Beats Per Minute, a French film by Robin Campilo, was declared winner of the Golden Peacock at the closing ceremony of the 48th International Film Festival of India. The film, which also won a cash purse of Rs 40 lakh, narrates the story of activists in 1990s France, fighting to draw government’s attention to the HIV/AIDS stricken. The best actor (male), which carries a Silver Peacock and prize money of Rs 10 lakh, also went to the film’s lead, Nahuel Perez Biscayart.
Malayalam language film Take Off, was the other production that emerged a big winner, taking home a Silver Peacock each for special jury award and best actor (female) for the lead, Parvathy. The special jury award was handed to the director Mahesh Narayanan along with a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh.
Take Off tells of the plight of nurses from Kerala stuck in war-torn Iraq in 2014. “I dedicate the award to all the nurses from Kerala serving in war-torn regions. They should be respected as much as our armymen are,” Narayanan said.
Beats Per Minute and Take Off beat 13 other films from across the world to win the awards, chosen by the international jury headed by Muzzafar Ali.
Accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award, which carries a scroll and cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, legendary Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan, said, “You have no idea how the cinema of India has influenced my career. I accept this award in the spirit of friendship between the two countries—India and Canada. We have a huge huge Indian community in Canada.”
Vivian Qu won the best director award, which carries a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh and Silver Peacock, for the Chinese film, Angels Wear White on child sexual abuse. The award for best debut feature film went to Kiro Russo for his Bolivia-Qatar film, Dark Skull. The award includes a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh.
“I am nervous but honoured to win this award,” said Manoj Kadam, after his Marathi film Kshitij—A Horizon bagged the prestigious ICFT-Unesco Gandhi Medal for having a strong ethical component and artistic excellence, beating eight other films.
Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Karan Johar, Katrina Kaif, Sushant Singh Rajput, Sidharth Malhotra and Papon were among the others celebrities at the closing ceremony, performing and presenting awards.