Roam Rome Mein wins top award at IndoGerman Filmweek

The eighth edition of the IndoGerman Filmweek concluded with the presentation of awards. The Best Film award was presented to actress Tannishtha Chatterjee’s directorial debut, Roam Rome Mein (2019).

The citation for the film read, 'The film raises many questions and answers many of the questions. The viewer is encouraged to think and the film delivers a message that was judged to be very important by the jury. The cinematic design is convincing in its absurdity on various levels — be it the encounter of the main character with a culture that is foreign to him or with his inner world that suddenly no longer seems to fit his reality.'

The Best Actor (female) award went to Usha Jadhav for Mai Ghat: Crime No 103/2005 (2019) while the Best Actor (male) prize was given to Adil Hussain for his work in Pareeksha (2020) and Nirvana Inn (2019). Geethu Mohandas’s Moothon (2019) was voted Best Film at the festival by the audience.

The Best Actor in a Supporting Role award was presented to Roshan Mathew for the film Moothon: The Elder One. This was an additional category created by the jury to recognize Roshan Mathew's talent. The citation read, 'Roshan Mathew is so convincing as a deaf man that the jury would like to award a special prize in a supporting role. His performance in playing with sign language is remarkable. His character Amir touches the viewer deeply and impresses every minute.'

Arun Karthick’s Nasir (2020) was adjudged Best Film in a social context. This, too, was an additional category instituted by the jury.

The festival jury comprised film, radio and social media critics and journalists Kati Brauchmann, Lisa Schlegel and Raman Deep Jaswal, as well as Anjana Singh, chairwoman of AMIKAL eV, an organization that campaigns for positive engagement with different cultures. Actress Stefanie Masnik was the jury spokeswoman.

The festival was held from 24 through 30 September in a physical format in Berlin, Germany.