• Lithuanian film ‘Toxic’, won the coveted Golden Peacock Award at the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

• The film, written and directed by Saule Bliuvaite, revolves around the story of two 13-year-old girls who attend a modelling school that pushes them to their physical and emotional limits. 

• Renowned Indian filmmaker Ashutosh Gowarikar was the chairperson of the jury which judged films in the international competition section category. 

• Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Sanjay Jaju and noted filmmaker Ramesh Sippy were among the guests present at the concluding function held at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium near Panaji on November 28.

• The curtains came down on the festival which featured over 200 films from 75 countries, masterclasses by industry stalwarts, and inspiring panel discussions. 

Other major awards:

• Phillip Noyce, the legendary filmmaker from Australia, was presented with the ‘Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award’, which includes a Silver Peacock Medal, a certificate, a shawl, a scroll, and a cash prize, in tribute to his brilliant and extensive cinematic journey.

• The Best Director Award was won by Romania’s Bogdan Muresanu for his film ‘The New Year That Never Came’. 

• The Best Actor (Female) award was jointly won by Vesta Matulyte and Leva Rupeikaite for their performance in ‘Toxic’. 

• The Award for Best Actor (Male) was given to Clement Faveau for his performance in the French film ‘Holy Cow’. 

• The Best Debut Feature film award was given to American drama film ‘Familiar Touch’ written and directed by Sarah Friedland. French movie ‘Holy Cow’ won the Special Jury Award. 

• Introduced this year to spotlight Indian debut films, the Best Debut Director of an Indian Feature Film Award was given to Navjyot Bandiwadekar for Marathi movie ‘Gharat Ganapati’. 

• The best OTT series award was won by ‘Lampan’ directed by Chinmay Kelkar and Nipun Dharmadhikari. 

• Actor Vikrant Massey was honoured with the Indian Film Personality of the Year Award at the festival. 

International Film Festival of India (IFFI)

• The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was founded in 1952, and is now being held annually in the month of November. 

• It was held in Goa for the first time in 2004. The festival has since found a home in the coastal state as in 2014 Goa was declared the permanent venue for this festival.

• It is jointly organised each year by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), The ministry of information and broadcasting and the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG).

• Its goal is to provide a single platform for ambitious filmmakers, cineastes, and industry professionals to have access to excellent cinema from across the world.

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