And the winners of the 16th Indian Film Festival Stuttgart are...drum roll. Strike up the band! Bollywood music enhanced the mela like atmosphere of the five day film festival in Mumbai’s Sister City Stuttgart where 7,500 euros in prize money was awarded to the winners. Held between July 17 to July 21, 2019 the festival was attended by 5,000 plus German and European cine goers, according to a statement issued by the organisers Filmbüro Baden-Württemberg.
‘Chippa’ by Safdar Rahman, a road movie for the whole family won big in the Feature Film category with the German Star of India and 4,000 euros of prize money donated by the Festival’s main sponsor, Honorary Consul Andreas Lapp, who visits India annually. ‘About Love’ by Archana Phadke was adjudged winner in the Documentary category.
The German Star of India for the Best Short Film went to ‘Nooreh’ by Ashish Pandey. ‘Counterfelt Kunkoo’ by Reema Sengupta received a Special Mention as did director Sapna Moti Bhavanani for ‘Sindhustan’. Vikas Khanna bagged the Director’s Vision Award for his feature film ‘The Last Color’.
“Chippa” was screened with German live voice-over. The jury described “Chippa as a touching, humorous and creative film about dreams and finding oneself.” Written for the screen by director Rahman, ‘Chippa’ is the story of one night in a boy’s life where he (played by Sunny Pawar) is looking for someone to translate a letter by his father who disappeared without a trace.
Pandey’s ‘Nooreh’ is set in a village in a battle zone at the Indian-Pakistani border. Death is part of everyday life. The jury was impressed by the challenges faced by the protagonist who “defends herself both playfully as well as symbolically against the interests of the adult world.” Phadke’s ‘About Love’ depicts a middle-class family in urban India with “a very open and honest insight into the life and coexistence of three generations in Mumbai where “the harmless-looking everyday scenes are intimately interwoven by a wonderful montage”, while “a sense of closeness is created through camera work and attention to detail”.
Derrick Linco’s Bombay Dance Club (Stuttgart) sponsored Vikas Khanna’s 500 euro Director’s Vision Award which is aimed at directors who, with their film, take an ambitious look at cultural or social issues. The 17th Indian Film Festival Stuttgart will take place from July 15th to 19th, 2020.