NYIFF 2022: Shoebox, Once Upon A Time In Calcutta, Godavari win top awards

The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) ended over the weekend, announcing its winners for its 22nd edition.

Faraz Ali's Shoebox was named Best Film while Aditya Vikram Sengupta picked up the Best Director award for his Bengali film Once Upon A Time In Calcutta which was premiered at the Venice International Film Festival last year.

The acting awards were divided amongst the Marathi film Godavari and Once Upon A Time In Calcutta. Lead actor and producer Jitendra Joshi won the Best Actor award while Sreelekha Mitra won the Best Actress award for the Bengali film.

The Best Screenplay award went to Kuldip Patel’s Powai; Reyaan Shah and Hiranya Zinzuwadia shared the honours for Best Child Actor for their performance in the Gujarati film Gandhi & Co.

Bani Singh’s Taangh (Longing), about her father, hockey player Grahanandan Singh, won the award for Best Documentary Feature, while the Best Short Documentary was awarded to Kicking Balls.

Amrita Bagchi's Succulent was named Best Short Narrative and Ritesh Sharma’s Jhini Bini Chadariya was awarded Best Debut Film.

The festival was held virtually for the third consecutive year, with 60 screenings, including 18 feature narratives, six documentaries and 36 short films. The festival was held from 7–14 May and ended on Saturday with the screening of Ajoy Bose and Peter Compton’s documentary The Beatles And India: An Enduring Love Affair.

The full list of winners is given below:

Best Film — Shoebox

Best Director — Aditya Vikram Sengupta (Once Upon A Time In Calcutta)

Best Actor — Jitendra Joshi (Godavari)

Best Actress — Sreelekha Mitra (Once Upon A Time In Calcutta)

Best Screenplay — Powai

Best Child Actor — Reyaan Shah and Hiranya Zinzuwadia (Gandhi & Co.)

Best Documentary Feature — Taangh/Longing

Best Short Documentary — Kicking Balls

Best Short Narrative — Succulent

Best Debut Film — Jhini Bini Chadariya/The Brittle Thread