Chaitanya Tamhane's The Disciple gets FIPRESCI award at Venice festival

Fresh from its world premiere at the 77th edition of the Venice International Film Festival, Chaitanya Tamhane's second film, The Disciple, has won the prestigious FIPRESCI award, its first major win.

The feature stars Aditya Modak as an Indian classical vocalist who is training to follow his father and gurus into the khayal music tradition but grows more disillusioned as time passes.

The International Federation of Film Critics, known by its French acronym FIPRESCI (Federation Internationale de la Presse Cinematographique), presented the honour to the film.

The organization, formed in 1930 in Belgium, aims to promote and develop a film culture as well as safeguard professional interests.

Observing Alfonso Cuarón at work helped me in making The Disciple, says Chaitanya Tamhane

In a statement, young filmmaker Tamhane said, “I want to thank the FIPRESCI and its jury members from the bottom of my heart for their continued support for our work. This is a very special honour for us given that the jury for this award comprises film critics and journalists from around the world. We are all quite thrilled and excited with this fantastic start to the journey of The Disciple.”

The Marathi film, with Oscar-winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón as executive producer, is the first Indian film in 19 years to be selected in competition at the Venice festival; the last Indian film to be selected was Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding (2001). Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Mathilukal (1990) was the last Indian film to win the FIPRESCI award at Venice.

“It’s an incredible honour to be the first Indian film after 30 years to win this prestigious award at Venice," producer Vivvek Gomber said. "FIPRESCI’s faith in our work has been a great source of encouragement over the years.”

Tamhane’s directorial debut Court (2015) won the National award for Best Feature Film. It also won the Orizzonti award and the Luigi De Laurentiis award when it was premiered at the 71st edition of the Venice International Film Festival. That film was also produced by Gomber who played a pivotal role in it.

This year’s edition of the Venice festival ends today with the main awards yet to be announced.