Amartya’s short film on cyclone Fani wins awards

National award-winning independent filmmaker Amartya Bhattacharyya’s short silent documentary on the cyclone Fani, Mercy of God, has won six major awards at the 12th NoHu International Short Film Festival 2019 in New Jersey, USA.

The film got the Best Short Film award, while Amartya was declared Best Director and Kisaloy Roy was awarded for the Best Original Score. Amartya also bagged Best Editing and Best Cinematography awards, while the short’s presenter bagged the Best Producer award.
The festival also screened eight films from different parts of the world.Mercy of God, a silent portrait of Odisha after the cyclone Fani, was the only film from India.
The extremely severe cyclone, which hit Odisha on May 3 this year, affected the lives of people in remote villages in Puri, Cuttack and Khorda districts of Odisha. Amartya, who had visited these rural areas post cyclone, witnessed its severity and captured the huge damage and loss caused to people. He has dedicated the film to the cyclone affected people of Odisha.
“The film with no spoken words is a realistic mirror showcasing the terrible condition of cyclone-affected Odisha,” said Amartya.
The director said that the film has won in all major categories. It was made on a small budget and without any crew. “I am not the one who would like to showcase the sufferings of people. I made this documentary in order to show the strength and resilience of the people of Odisha. Even from the most devastated condition, this film has tried to extract some hope,” Amartya signed off.