Mumbai, 31 January 2023

 

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Film Festival came to a close today in Mumbai. This edition was the biggest ever SCO Film Festival, with 58 films from 14 countries being showcased. The closing ceremony saw the winners being declared for the various competition categories. Lyricst and Chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification(CBFC), Prasoon Joshi and celebrities from the film industry were in attendance.

 

Awards

The competition section, which was limited to submissions from the SCO group of countries, presented a tough choice for the jury with each entry showcasing the highest levels of cinematic excellence. Marathi Film Godavari, directed by Nikhil Mahajan was judged the best film. Xiaozhi Rao, director of Chinese film Homecoming won the award for the best director. Kazakh actor Askar Ilyasov won the Best Actor (male) for Paralympian while

Rano Shodiyeva from Uzbekistan won the Best Actor(female) award for The Fate of a Woman.

Russian film, Don’t Bury Me Without Ivan directed by Liubov Borisova bagged a Special Jury Award while the Kyrgyz film The Road to Eden directed by Bakyt Mukul &  Dastan Zhapar received special mention from the jury for the message of hope and warning about the risk of losing cultural values in turbulent times. The Jury also found it pertinent to award a special mention to Tajik film Fortune directed by Muhyiddin Muzaffar for the remarkable actor’s ensemble immersing the audience into experience the value of true friendship.

   

 

Felicitations

Managing Director of National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) & Joint Secretary (Films), Government of India, Prithul Kumar felicitated Chairperson of CBFC Prasoon Joshi. Prasoon Joshi and Prithul Kumar also did the honor of felicitating celebrity guests, Actor R. Madhavan, Singer Shreya Ghoshal and Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker.

  

Addressing the audience via video message, Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur congratulated all participants and the jury for the successful conduct of the festival. He expressed optimism that the exchange of ideas the festival has witnessed will lead to futher cooperation, co-production and co-creation in the field of cinema in the SCO region. He also noted how cinema has been a strong driver of socio cultural progress in the region and will continue to be so.

In his vote of thanks, MD NFDC Prithul Kumar thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur for their stellar leadership and guidance. He also thanked senior officials of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for their encouragement and support, members of the media fraternity and the delegates whose participation made the festival a grand success.

The ceremony closed with dazzling performances by Taufiq Qureshi & Anirban Roy and Kailash Kher. The ceremony was followed by the screening of the award winning film, Godavari across all screening venues.

 

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PIB Mumbai | GSK/DR

 

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