“Swapnodanay” wins special jury award at IFFI

Bangladeshi film director Golam Rabbani Biplob's success story continues.
Five months after winning the Asian Talent Award at Shanghai Film Festival, his feature film Swapnodanay (On The Wings of Dream) bagged the special jury award at the 38th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji, Goa, on December 3.
The film was given the award, which carries a cash prize of Rs two and half lakh and a citation, for its simple but poignant story of economic and emotional struggles in rural Bangladesh.
Bipolb's movie shared the award with the Mexican film More Than Anything In The World, which was honoured for child artiste Julia Urbini's superb acting.
“I'm elated over winning this award as the International Film Festival of India is the oldest of its kind in Asia,” a delighted Biplob said.
He added that the IFFI award is a big boost to the alternative cinema movement in Bangladesh and would definitely help in progressing his career as a director.
Biplob received the award from the Governor of Goa, S C Jamir.
This is the second successive year of IFFI in Goa that a Bangladeshi film won the special jury award. Last year, it was Abu Sayeed-directed Nirontor, which received the same distinction.
Interestingly, both Nirontor and Swapnadanay (starring Mahmuduzzaman Babu, Rokeya Prachi and Fazlur Rahman Babu), are produced by Impress Telefilm Limited.
Biplob said he was happy that films from Bangladesh are being increasingly recognised in recent years not only in the Indian festival circuit but in other parts of the world too.
He said Swapnadanay will also be screened at the Dubai International Film Festival beginning on December 9.
The director said that he would begin shooting his second feature film in June or July next year based on a story written by him. The script and cast of the proposed project are yet to be finalised, he added.
The top award of Golden Peacock, carrying a cash prize of Rs ten lakh and a citation, at the IFFI went to The Wall, a film from Taiwan, based on a story of 'White Terror' in the 1950s, usually referring to persecution of suspected or real communists in many countries at that time.
The award for the promising director went to Thailand's Pongpat Wachir Abunjong for his movie Me Myself. The award carries a cash prize of Rs five lakh.
The jury at the IFFI, headed by Hungary's filmmaker Marta Meszaros and consisting of Turkish actress Meltem Cumbul, director Robert Sarkies from New Zealand and eminent Indian director Shahji N Karun, selected the award winning films out of 14 entries from 13 countries in the Asia, Africa and Latin America competition section.
Internationally acclaimed Indian director Buddhadeb Dasgupta, who was the chief guest at the closing ceremony of IFFI, expressed satisfaction about the quality of films screened at the festival.
“A country's culture is always known by the films it offeres to the world and not by its film stars,” he said, adding “in that respect, this festival has been a success."
The 38th edition of IFFI, which had begun on November 23 with the screening of the Romanian film Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days -- winner of the Golden Palm award at the Cannes Festival earlier this year -- closed with the showing of Spanish-Portuguese movie Fados directed by Carlos Saura.