New Delhi: March 20, 2012

Russia bagged the awards for the Best Feature Film (Ainur Askarov, Director–“Enmesh”), Best Documentary Film (Anton Tayshikhin, Director–“Pariah”), Best Animation Film (Mikhail Dvoryankin, Director–“Women’s Day Gift”), and the Best Actor-Male (a boy–“Enmesh”) at the four-day BRICS Youth Short Films Festival entitled “Film Dialogue–2012”. The award-giving ceremony was held on the concluding day at a colourful function at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture (RCSC) on March 16, 2012. The film festival, jointly organised by the RCSC and the Citizens’ Film Forum (CFF) with the cooperation and support of the Embassies of Brazil, China, Russia and South Africa, received wide acclaim and good response.

In all, the film festival successfully offered a forum for young film-makers from Russia and India to showcase their films and a rare opportunity for interaction and mutual understanding. In the first-time-ever film festival in the BRICS format, the young film-makers got a chance of having an international audience and a unique occasion to get their film selected by an International Jury.

India won the awards under the categories of Best Director (Satish Chandrasekharan–“Satish Chandrasekharan’s Story”), Second Best Actor-Male (Raja, Actor–“White Dirt”), Best Actor-Female (Vaibhavi Pardeshi, Actress–“Vansh”), Second Best Actor-Female (Sonali Chalke, Actress–“Revolutionary”), Best Script (Swapnil Vichare, Santosh Subramanium—Script;  Jugal Kishor Tayal—Director–“What is Sex”), Best Cameraman (Milind Jog—Camera;  Ms. Reema Sengupta– Director–“Tigers, They are all Dead”), Special Jury Recommendation (Kunal Suresh Walve–Director–“Photu”), Special Jury Recommendation (Mithunchandra Chaudhari– Director–“Compulsory Hellmate”), Viewers’ Choice (Satish Chandrasekharan– Director–“Satish Chandrasekharan’s  Story”), Viewers’ Choice (Satyendra Pandey– Director–“Just Another Love Story”), Viewers’ Choice Mrs. Reema Sengupta–Director–“Tigers, They are all Dead”), Viewers’ Choice (Ajit Ranjan–Director–“Parchhaai”), and Viewers’ Choice (Harkiran Kaur– Director– “Aashiyana”).

Certificates of Appreciation were distributed to directors of all the films, which were screened at the festival.

Making an overall assessment of the film festival, the Head of the Jury Sudhir Bose, Noted Film Critic and Lecturer, lauded the perception and imagination of the young film-makers, and congratulated their efforts. He, along with another Jury member Ms. Hema Odhav, First Secretary (Political Multilateral), South African High Commission in New Delhi, and Ms. Yelena S. Shtapkina, Deputy Director (Culture and Information), RCSC, distributed the awards and certificates to prize-winners.

Welcoming the gathering, Mr. Gadzhi M. Akhemedov, Deputy Director, RCSC, acknowledged the initiative and cooperation of the co-organizer Citizens’ Film Forum and extensive support provided by the Embassies of Brazil, China, Russia and South Africa to make the Film Festival a great success. Pointing out that the festival being organized on the eve of the forthcoming BRICS Summit, he noted that the RCSC is contemplating to make the festival an annual feature. Thanking the audience who recorded the viewers’ choice in the selection of the films, he appreciated the painstaking efforts taken by Jury Members, who were presented with mementos.

The award-winning films were screened after the ceremony.

 

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