Golden Peacock for the Kazakhstan film 'Tulpan'

-Director Ergei Dvortsevoy wins both Golden & Silver peacock
-Special Jury award goes to Sri Lankan actor Malini Fonseka


The 39th International Film Festival of India (2008) concluded with the screening of Iranian film 'The Song of the Sparrows', directed by Majid Majidi. The closing ceremony started with a minute of silence in memory of victims of recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai .Director Sergei Dvortsevoy bagged the best film award with the Golden Peacock and a cash award of 40 lakh for the Kazakhstan film 'Tulpan'. The Silver Peacock and a cash award of Rs. 15 also bagged by Sergei Dvortsevoy being choosen as the Most Promising Director.. Tulpan is a cinematic triumph that pulls us in a world where man can live in peace with nature said the citation. Dvortsevoy thanked the audience for sharing his very Kazakh but universal story. He said films cannot change the world but they can change people and people can change the world.The Special Jury Award has gone to Sri Lankan actress Malini Fonseka whose film 'Akasa Kusum' featured in the Competition Section. The winner was presented a Silver Peacock, a cash prize of Rs. 15 lakh and a certificate. Fonseka said that her film was an India Sri Lanka co-production and the time has come for a closer relationship between the two countries. She also hoped for peace and happiness everywhere in these troubled times.
Five Member competition jury was headed by the noted Director from Hong Kong Mr. Peter Chan. Other members of the jury are Mr. Marco Mueller (Venice), Ms. Niki Karimi (Iran), Mr. Lav Diaz (Philippines) and Ms. Tabassum Hashmi (Tabu- India). Two Indian entries S. Priyadarshan's Tamil film Kanchivaram and Ramesh Laxman More's acclaimed Marathi film Mahasatta were in the competition section among 13 other films chosen from Bangladesh, Russia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Iran, the Philippines, Argentina, China and Japan. Chief Guest at the closing ceremony was noted Film Actor Shri Kamal Hasan. Mr Hasan said that despite setbacks and dark moments normal life must go on. He congratulated the organizer for putting together such a rich collection of movies. Shri Digambar Kamat ,Chief Minister of Goa in his remarks said that IFFI 2008 was a landmark event. He said that Government of Goa is keen to develop the State as a hub of entertainment industry. He said that additional multiplexes and other facilities are being created in in the state.
The Jury Chairperson Mr Peter Chan said that the Jury process took them to the various cultures from the all the corners of globe. Decision was not easy but it was unanimous , said the eminent director. Festival Director Shri S M Khan thanked all the individuals and organizations associated with the Festival for putting together a grand extravaganza. Joint Secretary (Films), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting ,Shri V.B.Pyarelal said that the Festival gave us an opportunity to experience the visual interpretation of the various facets of life. He said that the occupancy remained very high throughout the Festival as compared to last year. 83 Indian movies including 47 in the Indian Panorama were screened. As Indian Panorama was screened twice there were total of 130 screening of Indian films under seven different segments. Besides the section Indian Panorama wherein 26 Feature and 21 Non Feature films were screened, Centenary tributes were paid to Bimal Roy, Devika Rani and L V Prasad. Under the Lifetime Classics, Dilip Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, B. Saroja Devi and Tapan Sinha were screened. G. P. Sippy, B. R. Chopra, F. C. Mehra, Jayshree Gadkar, Raghuvaran, Mahendra Kapoor, Jeeva, Sridhar, Vijay Tendulkar and Nabendu Ghosh were paid tribute under Homage section. A talk by Ms. Kishwar Desai on 'Devika Rani and Himanshu Rai: Globalization of early Indian Cinema' was delivered. Taj Mahal: A Celluloid Journey screened four films based on Taj Mahal to showcase the monument. There was a section to commemorate 75 years of Kannada Cinema. Treasure from the National Film Archives were also showcased at the Festival.