Second edition of indus valley international film festival- south asia’s first borderless digital film festival screened 25 films online

Jyothi Venkatesh

Second edition of Indus Valley International Film Festival (IVIFF) concluded with the announcement of 25 awards in various categories. Actor Himanshu Malik announced the list of awards selected by an eminent jury.Organized by SAFACH (South Asia Forum for Art & Creative Heritage), “South Asia’s first Borderless Digital Film Festival” hosted nine days of incredible films, interaction with celebrities, workshops on filmmaking, masterclasses, scriptwriting, theatre acting and direction.

A big thanks is due to Harsh Narayan, the Founder and Creative Director – Indus Valley International Film Festival for having picked quality films to showcase in his festival and Hema Upadhyay, the efficient PR person of the PR agency 1h and her team consisting of Nidhi and Simran for having felicitated the screening of the films for me 'ghar baite baite' digitally .

Jury
comprising (Supriti – a Diversity & Inclusion consultant, Vineet Chopra – a Theatre Director & Harsh Narayan – a Filmmaker) had a tough time coming to the conclusion. Screening brought forward the rich diversity and legacy of South Asian films. The festival opened with R Balki film 'PadMan' and closed with Vishal Bhardwaj film 'Rangoon'. Himanshu Malik was the ‘Master of Ceremony’, who also announced the final Awards.

Indus Valley International Film Festival presented a remarkable line-up of films from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. There were also films in the International Panorama segment, comprising films from Italy, Spain etc. Thousands of cine lovers from across the world got an opportunity to see a range of movies, short films, documentaries and also got a glimpse of celebrities and renowned actors and directors.

Harsh Narayan, Founder and Creative Director – Indus Valley International Film Festival said “During these nine days, all the filmmakers from across South Asian countries, had a consensus that a digital Platform for South Asian Creative Industry should be created, where they can meet, network, plan co-productions, and collaborate on various aspects of filmmaking.

Another important suggestion came that we create a South Asian Cinema fund, to select & support development of quality screen content in South Asia. These are the most important take-away of this Second edition of Indus Valley International Film Festival.

They also suggested that on a regular basis, film screenings, talks, workshops or panel discussions should be held under Indus Valley, to retain the momentum. All of us are super excited to take this platform Indus Valley to the next level altogether, as a unified source for the South Asian Creative Industry.We also seek to take it to the next level by becoming South & South-East Asia’s first Borderless Digital Creative Network.”

In the Covid19 scenario the first edition was a successful effort and now the grander success of the second edition has now established Indus Valley as a credible creative brand across South Asia. Below is the list of awards selected by the jury and the details are available on the website www.iviff.com

Awards Indus Season 2

1. Best Researched Theme: Dance of Joy

2. Jury Special Mention Outstanding work on LGBT Issue: Onir for Farewell

3. Best Actor in Short Film: Ketaki Narayan for Burning

4. Jury Special Mention Best Short Film : Hundred Rupees

5. Best Short Film: Radical Camp

6. Jury Special Mention Best Documentary Film: The Walnut Tree

7. Best Documentary Film: Windfall of Grace

8. Best Actress in Dynamic Role : Bobby for Bizli

9. Best Debut Director : Himanshu Malik for Chitrakut

10. Best Contemporary Theme: Ho Mann Jahan

11. Best Humane Narrative: Paangshu

12. Best Eternal Tale: The River of Love

13. Best Film on Comic Theme: Axone

14. Jury Special Honour Cult Children Film: The Blue Umbrella

15. Best Period Drama: Rangoon

16. Best Film on Social Theme: PadMan

17. Best Background Score: The Birth Land

18. Best Cinematography : Suparna

19. Best Actor in Supporting Role : Ranvir Shorey for Kadakh

20. Best Story: Akash Khurana for The River of Love

21. Jury Special Mention Best Actor: Nita Fernando for Paangshu

22. Best Female Actor: Mahira Khan for Ho Mann Jahan

23. Best Male Actor: Akshay Kumar for PadMan

24. Best Director : Rajat Kapoor for Kadakh

25. BestFilm: Chaman Bahar