First-time filmmaker Natesh Hegde has won Best Director for his debut film Pedro at the Roberto Rossellini Awards handed out on the last day of the fifth Pingyao International Film Festival in China.
The Kannada-language film was premiered at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea this month and was screened in the Pingyao festival's Crouching Tigers section. Besides, Pedro was recently screened at the 65th BFI London Film Festival.
Natesh’s feature, which stars his father Gopal Hegde, Ramakrishna Bhat Dundi and Medini Kelmane, was selected for the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) Work-In-Progress Lab in 2019.
Set in rural Karnataka, the film follows an electrician named Pedro (Gopal) who finds himself isolated from his village after an accident.
The Egyptian film Feathers, directed by Omar El Zohairy, was awarded Best Film, while the Mexican film Prayers For The Stolen, directed by Tatiana Huezo, received the Jury award.
The festival, which began on 12 October, will end with Xu Lei’s The Great Director, the closing film, today.