Japanese movie 'Ring Wandering' wins Golden Peacock Award at 52nd edition of IFFI

The film won the coveted Golden Peacock Award, which consists of a cash prize of Rs 40 lakh to be shared equally between Kaneko and producer Takashi Shiotsuki.

The Silver Peacock award for best director went to Czech director Vaclav Kadrnka's ''Saving One Who Was Dead''. He received a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh for the award.

Jitendra Joshi, known to audiences outside Marathi cinema for his performance as constable Katekar in the Netflix series ''Sacred Games'', won the Silver Peacock for best actor (male) for filmmaker Nikhil Mahajan's Marathi drama ''Godavari''. Mahajan was also felicitated with a special jury award.

The film, which is Mahajan's ode to late filmmaker Nishikant Kamat, follows the story of a grumpy man named Nishikant Deshmukh (Joshi) and his family who try to cope up with the deaths of two close relatives.

The Silver Peacock for best actor (female) went to Angela Molina for her Paraguay film ''Charlotte'' by Simon Franco. ''Charlotte'' chronicles the absurd journey of an actor (Molina) who in the twilight of her career reinvents herself.

Both Joshi and Molina received cash prizes of Rs 10 lakh each.

Argentine filmmaker Mari Alessandrini's ''Zahori'' bagged the best debut feature film of a director at the festival. The film follows the story of an intrepid young girl who revolts against school and parents in order to realise her dream of independence.

Mahajan shared the special jury award with Brazilian actor Renata Carvalho for ''The First Fallen'', described as a courageous attempt to chronicle the untold stories of suffering and discrimination the sexual minorities were subjected to in 1980s Brazil.

The special jury mention was given to Roman Vasyanov for the Russian film ''The Dorm'', which revolves around a group of friends from the erstwhile Soviet Union who try to live their lives and maintain dignity despite the corrupt system and people running their student dorm.

Simon Farriol's ''Wealth of the World'' won the jury special mention for the debut feature film of a director. Set in 1814, the film presents a story about the homecoming of a militia peasant and a fellow soldier from the trenches of Chile's war for independence.

''Lingui - The Sacred Bonds'', helmed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun from Chad, won the ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Award.

The event was attended by Manoj Bajpayee, Randhir Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit Nene as well as Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur and Goa CM Pramod Sawant. Noted lyricist and CBFC chairman Prasoon Joshi was felicitated with the Indian Personality of the Year honour.

Joshi, who has penned songs for movies ''Rang De Basanti'', ''Taare Zameen Par'' and ''Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'', dedicated the award to his home state Uttarakhand.

''For me, who comes from Uttarakhand, I would love to dedicate this award to the inspiration I drew from -- to the mountains I grew up in. I'm hopeful about the future of Indian cinema because the diversity that we have in this country is amazing,'' he said.

Dixit Nene, who was the chief guest for the closing ceremony, lauded the organisers for showcasing films made by women filmmakers.

''In the last few days, the IFFI has also showcased several movies that have been led by women, both behind and in front of the camera. I applaud them for their conviction, commitment, and for being an inspiration to the younger generation of female creators, writers and actors as they work towards making their mark in this industry,'' she said.

The actor also commended the organisers for inviting streaming platforms to the IFFI for the first time.

''Together with TV and theatres, OTT platforms will continue to help our industry to grow from strength to strength,'' she added.

Kapoor and Bajpayee were also felicitated at the closing ceremony.

Bajpayee said the IFFI is a great vehicle to encourage a new generation of filmmakers.

''A country with such a huge population can actually be a great force in entertainment in the coming years and this platform is going to be the major force behind them,'' he added.

Thakur reiterated the Centre's aim to make India the post-production hub of the world.

''My message to our foreign guests and filmmakers, you are welcome to shoot films here and take the advantage of our highly skilled post-production facilities,'' he said.

Uttar Pradesh was awarded the most friendly state for film shooting.

The winners for BRICS Film Festival, conducted alongside the IFFI for the first time, were also announced during the ceremony.

National Award winner Dhanush won the best actor trophy for his Tamil movie ''Asuran'', while Brazilian actor Lara Boldorini took home the best actress award for ''On Wheels''.

This is the sixth edition of the BRICS Film Festival in which a special package of films from countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa were showcased.

Lucia Marat was named the best director under the BRICS Film Festival for the film ''Ana'' (Brazil).

The best film award was shared by South African film ''Barakat'' and Russian film ''The Sun Above Me Sets''.

Chinese director Yan Han was given the special mention award for the film ''A Little Red Flower''.

The film gala, which opened on November 20, was held partially on ground and online.

Celebrated Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi's award-winning film ''A Hero'' will bring the celebrated gala to a close.