31st KIFF ends with a surprise CM visit and creative-economy message

Kolkata: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee paid a surprise visit to the closing ceremony of the 31st Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) on Thursday to give away the Royal Bengal Tiger award. The international jury, setting a new benchmark at KIFF, bestowed the top Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Film for International Competition on ‘Innovation in Moving Images' of Rs 51 lakh on a Cuban documentary. David Lim's ‘To The West in Zapata' also got the FIPRESCI award for international competition.KIFF chairperson Goutam Ghose was honoured with the lifetime achievement award in celebration of the 100th anniversary of FIPRESCI. Ghose dedicated it to the "noble soul" of his wife, Neelanjana, who passed away three weeks ago. "Whatever I have achieved was due to her great support and artistic vision. I don't know how to navigate in the sea of life without her," he said.At the event anchored by actor-and-politician June Maliah and actor-director Ujaan Ganguly, Ghose was joined on the stage at Rabindra Sadan by actor-politician Dev, music director Shantanu Moitra, director Srijit Mukherji, director Arindam Sil, KIFF chief adviser and minister Aroop Biswas, minister and KIFF co-chief adviser Indranil Sen, and director-general KIFF Shantanu Basu. The CM described Bengal as "the cultural capital of India" that promoted unity, diversity and peace. She said the next KIFF would "grow in strength". "We'll go for a big jump," she said, highlighting the need to strengthen the creative economy. "Nobody can survive without creativity." The bestowing of the 31 KIFF's top award on a non-fiction work highlighted the need to understand the convergence of fiction and non-fiction to celebrate excellence in cinema. "Here, the realms of fiction and non-fiction merged into a holistic unit," said jury member Sunny Joseph. The Special Jury award for international competition went to a Croatian film, Ivona Juka's ‘Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day', which explored homosexuality. The Best Director award went to Lalith Rathnayake for ‘Riverstone'.Lim's observational documentary, which he single-handledly shot, edited and directed, took eight years to make and was filmed in a swamp in Cuba infested with crocodile, mosquitos and parasites. Set during the pandemic, it explores the challenges of a real life couple to raise their autistic son. Lim couldn't attend the festival because his visa applications were rejected. “How I miss not being able to be in Kolkata,” he told TOI from Zapata which is “one of the most forgotten and sparsely populated areas of Cuba”. Thanking KIFF, he also acknowledged how Ray played essential to my growth as a filmmaker and as a person. “There are people we will never meet, yet what they did changes us. I want to thank you, Satyajit Ray, wherever you are, for your hope and humanity. For always standing by ordinary people... The prize money of this award will make sure that this won’t be my last film — it allows me to make the next one, which will also be set in Cuba and will speak about my generation.”Three non-fiction works won in the documentary category. While Debalina Majumder's ‘Jilipibalar Bondhura' and Sujit Debbarma and Pranab Jyoti Deka's ‘My Last Face: Kungbara' won the special mention award, Joydeep Banerjee's ‘Saga of a Glorious Life: Bijoylaxmi Barman' won the Best Documentary award.In the Indian languages category, the three winners – Best Film, Best Director and Special Jury awards were given for films made in the Sikkimise, Khasi and Krabi languages. Tribeny Rai, an SRFTI alumnus whose “Shape of Momo” won the Best Film award, said, “SRFTI introduced me to cinema. So winning this award here in Kolkata means the world to me. This film wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the people of my village and the Sikkim government,” she told TOI. Pradip Kurbah, who picked up the Best Director award, said, “Some victories are not just awards. They are reminders of the long road, the sleepless nights, the doubts, the small acts of faith, and the people who stood by you when nothing seemed certain. ‘Ha Lyngkha Bneng’ was born from a place of honesty, struggle, and love. To see it recognised today means more than words.” He also added that a film school trained maker winning an award alongside a self-taught director like him is a beautiful sign of “cinema is opening its doors wider”. “When both a non film school director and a film school trained director can stand on the same stage, it shows that at the end of the day, it’s the story and the honesty of the craft that matter. It’s a celebration of diversity in voices, journeys, and backgrounds. That’s what makes the festival spirit truly inclusive,” Kurbah added.While Chandrasish Ray’s “Porshi” was adjudged the winner in the Bengali Panorama section, Sivaranjini’s “Victoria” got the NETPAC award for Best Film. Two short films – Ravi Kumar’s “Songs of the Mist” and Sudipta Barai’s “Aparthiba” won the special jury award. Liton Paul’s “Nyingma... Through her eyes” got the Golden Royal Bengal Tiger award for Best Indian Short Film. Sivaranjini’s “Victoria” won the NETPAC Award for Best Film.