HYDERABAD, Telangana – Pakistan director Farhan Alam’s film Saawan has won the coveted All Lights India International Film Festival (ALIIFF) Golden Frame Award for the best feature film.
Saawan, produced by USA-based Kalakar Films, has been written and produced by Mashood Qadri. The movie is set in the remote areas of Balochistan and depicts the story of a polio-stricken boy and his journey of survival.
The boy after being abandoned by his father, denounced by society and harassed by his friends, was left to die in the barren desert of Balochistan. The love and memories of his mother were the strengthening factors that urge him to keep fighting until his last breath.
The film features Saleem Mairaj Saleem, Syed Karam Abbas, Arif Bahalim, Najiba Faiz and Imran Aslam in the lead roles. The other cast includes Tipu Sharif, Hafeez Ali, Sehrish Qadri, Sohail Malik, Shahid Nizami, Muhammad Abbas, Danial Yunus, Mehek Zulfiqar and Syed Muhammad Ali.
Around 130 movies were screened at the third edition of ALIIFF of which 68 movies were part of the competition segment. The categories included Feature Film, Debut Director’s Film, Indian Film, Short Film, Student Short Film and Documentary. The festival saw the participation of leading filmmakers and technicians from 50 countries. The festival gave away a NETPAC award too, the International Business Times reported.
Dr Bijukumar Damodaran (India) was the head of the jury panel, which included members like Amir Muhammed (Malaysia), Axel Estein (Germany), Matthew Helderman (USA), Bassam Mohammed Al Thawadi (Bahrain), Jun Robles Lana (Philippines), Marianne Borgo (France), KNT Sastry (India), Nawaf Al Janahi (Abu Dhabi), Doo Yong Lee (South Korea), Soo Sung Lee (South Korea) and Hassan Nazer (Iran).
List of Winners
Best Feature Film: Saawan (Pakistan) by Farhan Alam
Best Student Short Film: The Loudest Silence (Brazil) by Marccela Moreno
Best Documentary: In Return: Just A Book (India) by Shiny Jacob Benjamin
Best Short Film: Take The Reins (USA) by Emma Barrett
Best Indian Film: Railway Children (India) by Prithvi Konanur
NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film: Hidden Corner (India) by Jaicheng Jai Dohutia
Honourable mention in Best Short Film: Chudala (India) by Maaria Sayed
Honourable mention in for Cinematography: 2001: While Kubrick Was In Space by Daniel Ortega
The award comprising of a cash prize, a certificate and a trophy were distributed to the winners by the juries and Indywood founder director Sohan Roy at the valedictory function of the third edition of Indywood Film Carnival held at Princess Hall, Ramoji Film City, on Monday.
In November, Saawan bagged the award for Best Foreign Film at the 11th Annual Alexandria Film Festival held in Virginia, USA.
The feature film was also selected as Pakistan’s entry for next year’s Academy Awards for the category of Best Foreign Language Movie.
