The IFFI 55 came to an end yesterday with ‘Toxic’, a Lithuanian drama winning the Golden Peacock Award for the Best Film award at the Festival. The film also took the Best Actor Female award with it being shared by the two actors from the film Vesta Matulyte and Ieva Rupeikaite.
Clément Favreau won the best actor male award for his performance in the French film ‘Holy Cow’. He played the lead role in filmmaker Louise Courvoisier’s directorial debut. Romanian filmmaker Bogdan Muresanu received the Best Director Award for his work on ‘The New Year That Never Came’. Set against the backdrop of the 1989 Revolution. The special jury award was won by the French filmmaker Louise Courvoisier’s directorial debut ‘Holy Cow’.
The Marathi series ‘Lampan’ won the Best Web Series Award. It is based on the works of Prakash Narayan Sant. Swedish director Levan Akin’s ‘Crossing’ was awarded the ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal. The prestigious Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Phillip Noyce. The acclaimed Australian director is known for his exceptional storytelling and has helmed over 19 feature films spanning various genres. In his acceptance speech, the legendary filmmaker offered a heartfelt tribute to the Indian audience, recalling his first experience of watching cinema in Mumbai in 1978. “The Indian audience is unlike any other—fully immersed in the emotion of the film, as though they were part of it. There is nothing like the Indian audience”, said an elated Noyce.
Noyce went on to acknowledge the immense influence of Indian cinema, noting that India is the world’s largest producer of feature films each year. Remembering the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Noyce said, “Growing up in Australia, we were all inspired by the work of Satyajit Ray. I have drawn from his approach in my own work, particularly when casting. Like Ray, when I couldn’t find indigenous Australian actors for my films, I looked to cast real people who could simply be themselves.” He further expressed deep gratitude to Ray, saying, “In the world of Australian cinema, we filmmakers owe a debt to Satyajit Ray that goes far beyond any award. His influence continues to guide and inspire us.”
Sarah Friedland was declared the Best Debut Feature Film of a Director. Navjyot Bandiwadekar bagged the Best Debut Director Award for his Marathi film ‘Gharat Ganpati’. Vikrant Massey won the Indian Film Personality of the Year. The actor had starred in ‘12th Fail’, the blockbuster Hindi film of 2023.
The closing ceremony was attended by stars like Rashmika Mandanna, Jaya Prada, Shriya Saran, Pratik Gandhi, Sameer Kochhar, Shreya Chaudhary, Ritwik Bhowmik, and Navin Kohli. There were performances by Amaal Mallik and Mame Khan.