Aditya Kripalani selected as jury member at Croatia's Split Film Festival

Filmmaker Aditya Kripalani has been selected as jury member for the upcoming 25th edition of the Split Film Festival (International Festival of New Film) in Croatia. The festival, which is the oldest in the country, will be held from 10 – 17 September.

Kripalani's third film, Devi Aur Hero has also been selected to be screened in the Forum section of the festival, where it plays alongside other features from Iran, Hungary, USA, and Germany. Last year, Devi Aur Hero was screened at the 25th Kolkata International Film Festival and won the Best Film award in the NETPAC category.

This will be the first time that an Indian filmmaker has been invited to be a jury member for the Croatian festival. In a statement, Kripalani shared why the selection was a big moment for him.

“To be the first Indian to be selected to be the jury member is a very big deal for me,” he said. “And so early in one's film career, where we have only two films that have been released, so it is a big deal for me. Also, I have never been to Croatia, so I am really excited to go there. I am also excited to see other films from various countries coming. I think the more exposure that we get as filmmakers to different kinds of cinema, only inspires us to do better.”

He added, “What makes it special is that you now have the chance to give deserving films a platform by being a jury member. So that makes it special and I take that very seriously as a responsibility.”

The main section of the Split Film Festival will be shown outdoors in the open-air cinema and many of the invited guests will interact with the audience online.