Chaman Bahaar wins top award at Indus Valley International Film Festival

The second edition of the Indus Valley International Film Festival (IVIFF) concluded with the announcement of 25 award winners. The festival was held virtually from 2-9 October.

Apurva Dhar Badgaiyann’s Chaman Bahaar (2020) won the Best Film Award while Rajat Kapoor won the Best Director Award for Kadakh (2019). Furthermore, Mahira Khan won the Best Female Actor Award for Ho Mann Jahaan (2015) and Akshay Kumar won the Best Male Actor Award for Pad Man (2018). The Best Short Film and Best Documentary Film Awards were presented to Radical Camp and Windfall of Grace respectively and the Award for Best Debut Director was presented to Himanshu Malik for Chitrakut (2018). Actor Himanshu Malik announced the list of awards selected by the jury.

Organized by SAFACH (South Asia Forum for Art & Creative Heritage), South Asia’s first borderless digital film festival hosted nine days of film screenings, interactions with filmmakers and celebrities, masterclasses, and workshops on filmmaking, scriptwriting, theatre acting and direction. The line-up included films from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, besides films from across the world in the International Panorama segment.

Harsh Narayan, founder and creative director of the festival, said, “During these nine days, all the filmmakers from across South Asian countries had [arrived at] a consensus that a digital platform for the 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 was that we create a South Asian cinema fund to select and support the development of quality screen content in South Asia. These are the most important take-aways of the second edition of Indus Valley International Film Festival.”

Here is the complete list of winners:

Best Researched Theme: Dance of Joy

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

Best Actor in Short Film: Ketaki Narayan for Burning

Jury Special Mention Best Short Film: Hundred Rupees

Best Short Film: Radical Camp

Jury Special Mention Best Documentary Film: A Walnut Tree

Best Documentary Film: Windfall of Grace

Best Actress in Dynamic Role: Bobby for Bizli

Best Debut Director: Himanshu Malik for Chitrakut

Best Contemporary Theme: Ho Mann Jahaan

Best Humane Narrative: Paangshu

Best Eternal Tale: The River of Love

Best Film on Comic Theme: Axone

Jury Special Honour Cult Children Film: The Blue Umbrella

Best Period Drama: Rangoon

Best Film on Social Theme: Pad Man

Best Background Score: The Birth Land

Best Cinematography: Suparna

Best Actor in Supporting Role: Ranvir Shorey for Kadakh

Best Story: Akash Khurana for The River of Love

Jury Special Mention Best Actor: Nita Fernando for Paangshu

Best Female Actor: Mahira Khan for Ho Mann Jahaan

Best Male Actor: Akshay Kumar for Pad Man

Best Director: Rajat Kapoor for Kadakh

Best Film: Chaman Bahaar