IFFI 2023: Persian film ‘Endless Borders’ wins Best Film award, ‘Kantara’ director wins Special Jury Award | Bollywood News

The jury praised the film’s ability to cross physical and emotional boundaries. In their citation, the jury said, “This film depicts how complex physical boundaries can be, but nothing is more complex than the emotional and moral boundaries we impose on ourselves. Festivals are about crossing borders, and in the case of this film, the director sacrificed his freedom to cross political borders.”

The jury praised Shetty for telling a very important story in ‘Kantara’ and said, ‘Although this film is rooted in the unique culture of the forest devils, it reaches out to audiences irrespective of their culture and social status. ” he said.

Bulgarian director Stefan Komandarev won the Silver Peacock for Best Director for his film “The Lessons of Braga.”

Prime Video show ‘Panchayat’ season 2, directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, won the award for Best Web (OTT) Series, which was introduced for the first time. The award for Best Actor (Female) went to French actress Melanie Thierry for her role in the movie “Party of Fools.” Iranian actor Pouria Rahimi Sam won the award for Best Actor (Male) for her performance in the film “Endless Borders.”

Reger Azad Kaya, a promising film director from the Syrian Arab Republic, won the “Best Directorial Debut Feature Film” award for his film “When a Seedling Grows”.

The awards were announced at the festival’s closing ceremony on Tuesday.

On this occasion, Hollywood actor Michael Douglas was awarded the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Film. Douglas said film is one of the few media that has the power to unite and transform us, transcending geography, race, language and even time. “It reveals our true humanity. Today, our world language of cinema is more meaningful than ever,” he said.

“Ray epitomized what it means to be a world-class filmmaker. His films represent not only a triumph for the Indian film industry, but also the potential of cross-cultural artistic expression. , with everything going on in the world today, (this) festival reminds us of the magic of filmmaking,” Douglas said.

Filmmaker and jury chairman Shekhar Kapur said: Who are we. If we tell people our stories and people listen to each other’s stories…we will understand each other across borders. Because stories are fundamentally about being human… being human is the most fundamental aspect of all art. ”