THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: R Jayaraj’s Ottal (The Trap), based on Anton Chekov’s Vanka, made history at the 20th IFFK sweeping all the top awards, including Suvarna Chakoram for the best film and the ‘audience poll’ award. Making it the most decorated film in the history of IFFK, Ottaal won two more: Best Film of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) jury, the Best Malayalam film of the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) jury. It is also the first time a Malayalam film has won the best film at IFFK.
Suvarna Chakoram consists of Rs 15 lakh cash award, certificate and memento. The Rajatha Chakoram for Best Director was awarded to Jun Robles Lana for the Filipino film Shadow Behind the Moon. It consists of a cash award of Rs 4 lakh, certificate and memento.
The Rajatha Chakoram for Best Debut Director was awarded to Bangladeshi director Abu Shahed Emon for Jalal’s Story, a story told in three parts. It consists of a cash award of '3 lakh, certificate and memento.
Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s small-budget film, ‘Ozhivudivasathe Kali’, took the FIPRESCI award for Best Malayalam Film. Nir Bergman’s Israeli film ‘Yona’ won the NETPAC Best Asian film award.
The citation stated that ‘Ottal’, already a winner in the National and State film awards, took the top prize for “its strong cinematic language, interweaving local and planetary concerns; humankind’s relationship to nature and nurture and child human right—all grounded in a deep honest connection to culture and place”.
Newcomers who played the grandson and grandfather in the film - Ashanth K Sha and Kumarakom Vasudevan, a fisherman in real life - got a Jury’s Special Mention for their roles in the film.
Legendary Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui, whose film package was shown in the festival’s Retrospective segment, was honoured with IFFK’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The award for lifetime achievement carries a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, a memento and an official citation.
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