This edition of the festival was presented online.
Programme 01
30 November - 06 December 2020
SHORT FILMS IN COMPETITION
INTERNATIONAL
Maa Tuki (Find Me Mother) by Suchana Saha
(00:04:00|2019|Animation) India
Posharini - The Saleswoman by Sreecheta Das
(00:27:00|2018|Drama) India
Driving Lessons by Marziyeh Riahi
(00:13:00|2019|Drama) Iran
Ice Cream by Sangita Shrestha
(00:09:00|2018|Drama) Nepal
Safed Sar by by Atefah Hesari
(00:10:52|2019|Fiction) Afghanistan
ICE by Anna Hints
(00:15:00|2017|Fiction) Estonia
Diadem by Milana Majar
(00:29:53|2020|Documentary) Bosnia and Herzegovina
Once upon a time in Kurdistan by Zhino Hadi Hassan
(00:09:33|2019|Fiction) Iraq
Meenalaap (Fish Monologue) by Senjutee Suborna Tushee
(00:26:00|2018|Drama) Bangladesh
Dua by by Mona Javed
(00:30:00|2017|Fiction) Pakistan
My Name Is Petya by Daria Binevskay
(00:15:00 |2019|Fiction) Russia
Illuminati by Nina Belina
(00:14:00|2017|Fiction) Croatia|Serbia
Mamatva (Motherhood) by Kirti Singh
(00:30:00|2018|Fiction) India
Performer by Tasmiah Afrin Mou
(00:30:00|2019|Fiction) Bangladesh
Tenebrae by Nicole Midori Woodford
(00:16:00| 2018|fiction) Singapore
SHORT FILMS IN COMPETITION
NATIONAL
Deprimere by Paramie Jayakody
(00:11:00|2019|Fiction) Sri Lanka
Carrot by Dumindra Ridmi
(00:03:18|2019|Fiction) Sri Lanka
Thé Kahata by Yasodara Yasodhara Kariyawasam
(00:16:53|2020|Fiction|) Sri Lanka
The Ruins by Senathirajah Vanitha
(00:09:31|2018|Fiction) Sri Lanka
Fake ID is watching by Fathima Kamila and Ashfaque Mohamed
(00:07:10|2019|Fiction) Sri Lanka
It’s not a Tall Short thing by Shalini Divyanjalee
(00:16:00|2020|Fiction) Sri Lanka
H20 by Fathima Shanaz
(00:06:00|2018|Animation) Sri Lanka
Two Curries by Narthanie Serasinghe
(00:07:30|2020|Fiction) Sri Lanka
Beyond The Mirror by K. L. H. Maduwanthi
(00:05:00|2019|Fiction) Sri Lanka
Urumaya (Inheritance) by Lanka Bandaranayake
(00:20:00|2020|Fiction) Sri Lanka
Inside by Ayesha Suraweera
(00:04:30|2018|Animation) Sri Lanka
Light and Life by Upeksha Mahawaththa, Aruni Jayawardhana & Randi Imalka
(00:03:15|2019|Animation) Sri Lanka
Life On Land by Piyumi Sriyangani
(00:03:08|2019|Animation) Sri Lanka
We made the Bomb; We made the Womb by Namini Panchala
(00:05:41 |2020) Sri Lanka
Programme 02
07 – 13 December 2020
Top Girl by Tatjana Turanskyj
(01:34:00 | 2014 |Feature) Germany
Are You Going to School Today by Anupama Srinivasan
(01: 00:00 | 2018 | Documentary ) India
Jane by Tania Sing
(00:17:00 |2005 |Short Fiction) Singapore
Sikhirni Mwsanai (Dance of the Butterfly) by Subasri Krishnan
(01: 05:00 | 2019 | Documentary ) India
One Minute by Dina Naser
(00: 11:00 |2016 |Short Fiction) Jordan-Belgium,
Goddesses by Leena Manimakalai
(00: 42:00 |2007 |Documentary) India
Sing Mother Sing by Sumathy Sivamohan
(00:16:0011991| Experiental ) Sri Lanka
My Favourite Colour is Blue by Niranjala Kumarasinghe
(00:07:00 | 2017 | Short Fiction) Sri Lanka
Let Her Fly by Fathima Nafla
(00:04:00 | 2015|Short Fiction) Sri Lanka
Coral Woman by Priya Thuvassery
(00:52:00|2019| Documentary) India
The Bleach by Corine Colors
(00:10:00|2020 |Experimental) Canada- Lebanon
Kamlabai by Reena Mohan
(00:47:00 | 1992| Documentary) India
The Day I Became a Woman by Moupia Mukherjee
(00:35:00 | 2019 | Documentary ) India
Awards ceremony was held on 14 December 2020.
Jury
Tatjana Turanskyj
Filmmaker
Germany
Wahyuni A. Hadi
Programmer/Producer
Singapore
Sumathy Sivamohan
Filmmaker/Performer/Theatre Artist
Sri Lanka
Best Short Film - International
Nominations
Safed Sar by by Atefah Hesari
(00:10:52|2019|Fiction) Afghanistan
Driving Lessons by Marziyeh Riahi
(00:13:00|2019|Drama) Iran
Maa Tuki (Find Me Mother) by Suchana Saha
(00:04:00|2019|Animation) India
Meenalaap (Fish Monologue) by Senjutee Suborna Tushee
(00:26:00|2018|Drama) Bangladesh
Tenebrae by Nicole Midori Woodford
(00:16:00| 2018|fiction) Singapore
Best Short Film - International
Maa Tuki (Find Me Mother) by Suchana Saha
(00:04:00|2019|Animation) India
Special Jury Award
Tenebrae by Nicole Midori Woodford
(00:16:00| 2018|fiction) Singapore
Citation - Best Short Film (International)
The award for best film goes to a delightful minimalist film, that brings the past, present and the future into a seamless blending; a tragic story told without sentimentality, but with pathos, pleasure and hope; a film that exploited the short film form to the utmost, in sketching a generational relationship between two women, whose bond is both personal and political. Maa Tuki by Suchana Saha
Best Short Film - National
Nominations
Urumaya (Inheritance) by Lanka Bandaranayake
(00:20:00|2020|Fiction) Sri Lanka
Light and Life by Upeksha Mahawaththa, Aruni Jayawardhana & Randi Imalka
(00:03:15|2019|Animation) Sri Lanka
Fake ID is watching by Fathima Kamila and Ashfaque Mohamed
(00:07:10|2019|Fiction) Sri Lanka
Thé Kahata by Yasodara Yasodhara Kariyawasam
(00:16:53|2020|Fiction|) Sri Lanka
It’s not a Tall Short thing by Shalini Divyanjalee
(00:16:00|2020|Fiction) Sri Lanka
Best Short Film - National
Light and Life by Upeksha Mahawaththa, Aruni Jayawardhana & Randi Imalka
(00:03:15|2019|Animation) Sri Lanka
Special Jury Award
Urumaya (Inheritance) by Lanka Bandaranayake
(00:20:00|2020|Fiction) Sri Lanka
Citation - Best Short Film (National)
For an unusual treatment of a common issue, the gendered division of labour, told in a non- linear fashion; for its use of metaphor in novel ways, signifying both hope and hopelessness, and for a story told in an emerging form, the award of Best Film in the national category goes to: Light and Life by Upeksha Mawaththa, Aruni Jayawardena, Randi Imalka
Lifetime Achievement Award
Aparna Sen - India
Citation - Lifetime Achievement Award
In 1984, at the premiere of her second film ‘Parama’, during the intermission, some men cornered Aparna Sen and said, ‘What do you think? Women’s liberation means committing adultery?’ Indeed, Sen had dealt a severe blow to the patriarchal construct of the society, and had revolutionized the treatment of adultery in Indian Cinema. ‘Parama’ had emboldened the middle-class Bengali woman to give vent to her suppressed longing for love and its fulfillment. South Asian Cinema had forever changed the narrative of women, aware of her desire and having sole ownership of her mind and body.
Yet, Aparna Sen, in her own admission, is not a ‘feminist’. She prefers to call herself a ‘humanist’. And hence, her female protagonists are flawed, and not merely victims, as seen in ‘Yugant’, ‘Paromitar Ek Din’ and ’15 Park Avenue’. In films like ‘The Japanese Wife’, and ‘Iti Mrinalini’, she has treated her male characters with utmost compassion and dignity.
Always aware of her socio-political surroundings, it takes an Aparna Sen to tackle a burning topic like Nationalism in ‘Ghawre Baire Aaj’, a brave and relevant adaptation of Tagore’s ‘Ghawre Baire’. Sen thereby remains valid with each of her films, every time she chooses to holler instructions into the Dictaphone.
The Indian Government has awarded Sen with two National Film Awards for Best Direction, apart from seven more in other categories. She was also honoured with a Padma Shri, in recognition of her contribution to Indian Cinema. She has served on juries at multiple international film festivals over the years, apart from being an active elocutionist, and an editor of the popular women’s magazine ‘Sananda’ for two decades.
A star-actor to reckon with, Sen built on her debut in Satyajit Ray’s ‘Teen Kanya (Samapti)’, with stellar acts in ‘Aparichito’, ‘Sujata’, ‘Indira’, ‘Ekanta Apan’, Maha Prithibi’, ‘Swet Patharer Thala’, ‘Unishe April’, ‘Paromitar Ek Din’, ‘Iti Mrinalini’ and ‘Sonata’, to name a few. She continues to act in Bengali films. From ’36 Chowringhee Lane’ to ‘Ghawre Baire Aaj’, Aparna Sen has lent an independent voice and a unique identity to women directors from South Asia. As she gets busy with her future work, we wish her all the best.
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