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Gautam Ghose's film bags Golden Peacock Award
Prakash Kamat

Bengali filmmaker Gautam Ghose's film Moner Manush (The Quest), an Indo-Bangladesh joint production, bagged the coveted Golden Peacock Award for the Best Film at the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2010. The film is a saga of the life and times of Lalan Faquir and his liberal sect whose message of tolerance and secularism is becoming most relevant in today's world. The 11-day festival concluded on Thursday with the screening of the French film The Princess of Montpensier, directed by Bertrand Tavernier, premier French director and screenplay writer. The Silver Peacock Award for the Best Director went to Susanne Bier of Denmark for her film In a Better World. Just Another Love Story from India and The Boy from New Zealand were the joint winners of the Special Jury Award. Mr. Ghose received the Golden Peacock in the presence of Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Choudhury Mohan Jatua, Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and National Award Winner Saif Ali Khan who was the chief guest. The Rs. 40 lakh cash prize was shared by Mr. Ghose and producers of the film: Gautam Kundo (India), Habiburahaman Khan and Faridureza Saqar (both from Bangladesh). Reacting to the award, Mr. Ghose said, I thank the distinguished Jury for the endorsement of the message of tolerance in a very intolerant society. The Best Actor Award of Rs.10 lakh went to the Turkish actor Guven Kirac for his role in The Crossing, while the Best Actress Award was won by Magdalena Boczarska of Poland for her role in Little Rose. The films were chosen by a five-member jury out of 18 entries in the competition section from the U.K., the Czech Republic, Finland, Denmark, China, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Turkey, New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand, and three from India. Headed by Polish director Jerzy Antczak, the jury had Sturla Gunnarsson (Canada), Mick Molloy (Australia), Olivier Pier (Switzerland) and Revathi Menon (India) as its members. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kamat promised to take corrective action to overcome the shortcomings in this edition of the festival. The new initiatives like e-ticketing in IFFI 2010 were a tremendous success and sale of tickets went up to one lakh. Mr. Kamat thanked I & B Minister Ambika Soni for her support. Mr. Jatua said the Indian film industry was experiencing a phenomenal growth of 16 per cent and by next year its turnover would cross Rs. 17,500 crore. Indian cinema stood on the cusp of being cinema of the world but we must deliver to sustain our position. Mr. Khan said transforming Goa from a partying to a film destination was a welcome change, and hoped that the IFFI would go on to become an international favourite. Actors Padma Priya, Priya Mani, Prasonjeet and Arjun Rampal were also felicitated. In the 11-day extravaganza, which began on November 22, 300 films from 61 countries in 11 theatres were screened. Keywords: IFFI

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Sunday 05 December 2010 02:11 PM