Lithuanian film ‘Toxic’ wins Golden Peacock at IFFI-2024; Bogdan Muresanu best director

Talking about his journey, the actor said: “My idea is to represent the ‘common man’ (through my characters). I hope I am worth your (the audience’s) time, faith and money.” When asked to share a message to those struggling to find their foothold in the industry, Massey said, “There will be ups and downs. Own your story and your roots. The Indian film industry is a spectacular community to be part of.”

During the closing ceremony, held at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, the Best Film award was presented to ‘Toxic’ (Lithuania), directed by Saulė Bliuvaitė. The lead actors of Toxic — debutant Vesta Matulyte and Ieva Rupeikaitė – were chosen as Best Actor (Female) for their “extraordinary performances” and “pushing themselves to their physical and emotional limits” in creating the unforgettable characters of Marija and Kristina, respectively. ‘Toxic’ explores the “adolescence and the harsh realities” of growing up in an economically-deprived society.

The jury for the International Competition, comprising Ashutosh Gowarikar (its chairperson), Anthony Chen, Elizabeth Karlsen, Fran Borgia and Jill Bilcock, selected Bogdan Muresanu as Best Director for the Romanian film titled ‘The New Year That Never Came’. The jury citation says that Muresanu interweaves six stories to portray life in a country on the brink of a revolution. He does that armed with exquisite production design, mise-en-scene and metaphors to create the period and complemented by the stunning performances from the ensemble cast.

The Best Actor (Male) award was given to Clément Faveau for the film ‘Holy Cow’ (France). Calling his performance “incredibly natural”, the jury said Faveau deftly expressed “the emotional ups and downs, while traversing from innocence to maturity”. Its director Louise Courvoisier got the Special Jury Award while actor Adam Bessa was chosen for Special Mention for the film ‘Who Do I Belong To?’

Sarah Friedland, who in her narrative feature directorial debut ‘Familiar Touch’, “creates a poignant story that informs us that we are all constantly coming-of-age and the importance of love and caregiving, especially in old age” was awarded Best Debut Feature Film of a Director. Crossing — directed by Levan Akin and described as a stunning piece of cinema about love and understanding — received ICFT International Film Prize with UNESCO Gandhi Medal. The Best OTT Web Series Award was presented to Marathi-language ‘Lampan’. Navjyot Bandiwadekar won Best Debut Director of Indian Feature Film for his Marathi Film ‘Gharat Ganpati’.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister of Goa, said: “This edition of Film Bazaar was bigger and the delegates enjoyed it. Films were shown on 19 screens. That apart, we showcased Goa culture during the IFFI, which has become synonymous with Goa.” He also invited filmmakers to shoot in Goa. “We will offer single window clearance for shooting through Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG),” he added.

Several prominent film personalities including filmmaker Ramesh Sippy, Jaya Prada, actor and former parliamentarian Pratik Gandhi were felicitated at the ceremony.