Iranian feature The Boarding House wins Best Feature Film at International Film Festival of Shimla

The Iranian film The Boarding House by Maryam Ebrahimvand has been awarded the Best Feature Film in the International category at the 8th International Film Festival of Shimla (IFFS), while the Best Short Film was awarded to a film from Iran, Footsteps by Hamed Bahrami.

The Special Jury Short Film award was presented to Coffined At 15 by Gayatri Kumar and Polar Bears by Shilpa Krishnan Shukla, while the Special Jury Documentary award was presented to Emergence: Out of the Shadows by Vinay Giridhar.

Amongst the National level awards, Best Documentary was presented to The First Ink - Memories That Make History by Shridhar KS and Ripples Under the Skin by Farha Khatun. The Special Jury Documentary award went to 15 Seconds A Lifetime by Divya Hemant Kharnare, while Faraz Arif Ansari’s Sheer Qorma won the Best Short Film award.

The Special Jury Short Film award went to Kakitham – Paper by Vinoth Veeramani, Pinky And Papa by Shivang Khanna, and Kumu by Akanshya Bhagabati. The Best Feature Film in this category was Chabiwala - The Keysmith by Raja Ghosh. 

In the awards given from the state of Himachal, Keel by Aaryan Harnot was adjudged the winner of the Best Film award.

The festival was held from 26 - 28 August at Gaiety Theater in Shimla. The closing ceremony was presided over by former director general of Films Division, VS Kundu, where films were presented with awards under various categories of international, national, and state level. 

Documentaries, animation films, features and short films from 17 different countries including Canada, America, Lebanon, Spain, Iran, Taiwan, Brazil, Iceland, Singapore, Mexico, Australia, Greece, Belgium, Denmark, and Russia were screened at the festival.

In addition to the screenings, an open forum was organised during the festival where filmmakers shared their experiences and interacted with the audiences. An exhibition from the National Film Archives of India, Pune was displayed at the Exhibition Hall of Gaiety Theater. The exhibition showcased artwork and literature from the archives. Screenings were also organised for inmates at Central Jail Kanda and Nahan Jail.

The festival was organized by Himalayan Velocity, in collaboration with the department of language, art & culture (LAC) and the department of tourism & civil aviation, government of Himachal Pradesh.