44TH iffi 2013 -‘Beatriz’s War’ directed by Bety Reis and Luigi Acquisto won ‘Golden Peacock’ of the 44th IFFI 2013 - ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’ the closing film

‘Beatriz’s War’ an East Timor film bagged the coveted  Golden Peacock award for Best Film . The award carries a Golden Peacock, a certificate and a Cash Prize of Rs. 40 lakh. The film, directed by Bety Reis and Luigi Acquisto, is a passionate story of one woman’s conviction to remain true to the man she loves.. Indian Director Kaushik Ganguli bags the award for Best Director for his Bengali film ‘Apur Panchali’. The award carries a Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 15 lakh.Special Jury Award went to Turkish film ‘Thou Gild’st The Even’, directed by Onur Unlu. The award carries a Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 15 lakh.Best Actor (Male) award went to Alon Moni Aboutboul for his performance in Israeli movie ‘A Place in Heaven’. The award carries a Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakh. Best Actor (Female) award was presented to Boczarska Magdalena for her excellent performance in Polish film ‘In Hiding’. The Award carries a Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakh. The Special Centenary Award was given to Bengali film ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’, directed by Kamaleshwar Mukherjee. The award carries a Silver Peacock, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakh. ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’ directed by Justin Chadwick was the closing film of the festival. The film is based on anti-apartheid revolutionary and former South African President Nelson Mandela’s autobiographic book, ‘Long Walk to Freedom’. The film chronicles his life from his childhood in a rural village to his emergence as the first democratically elected President of South Africa.  Malaysian actor and filmmaker Michelle Yeoh was the Chief Guest . Addressing the audience attending the closing ceremony Manish Tewari, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting said that 44th IFFI was a celebration of freedom of the human spirit, liberated from the mores of conventionalism, imbued with the ability to dare and above all the power of a ‘New Idea’. He said that the government has also taken the initiative to replace the Cinematograph Act with a completely new legislation, the draft of which is on the Ministry’s website for public consultation. Governor of Goa Bharat Veer Wanchoo, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Manish Tewari, Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar, many International and Bollywood personalities including Asha Parekh, Rohit Shetty, Jimmy Shergil and Deepshikha were also present at the closing ceremony.. The ceremony opened with  an Indian rock fusion by Remo Fernandes from Goa.Raghavendra Singh , Joint Secretary (Films) and, Vishnu Surya Wagh Chairman (ESG) were also present at the closing ceremony.