IFFI 2023: Endless Borders wins Best Film award, Michael Douglas gets Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement
Michael Douglas honoured with Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award
IFFI 2023 was bigger and better than ever. The International Film Festival of India has esteemed guests like Michael Douglas and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones as special honorees of the event in addition to actors and directors from other parts of the world. The biggest awards were bestowed last night as Rishab Shetty won the special jury award for Kantara. Bulgarian film director Stephan Komandarev won the Best Director award for Blaga’s Lessons and Endless Borders won the coveted Best Film Award.
Another big award of the event was the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award which was conferred on Michael Douglas for his astounding contribution to cinema. Full of gratitude and love, Michael Douglas called Satyajit Ray a world-class filmmaker who represented not only the triumphs of the Indian film industry but also the "cross-cultural artistic expression". "It's an honour to stand before all of you tonight and receive this. I am humbled to join a prestigious group of past award recipients,” he said. He also acknowledged people who laid the foundation for his career, including his late father, Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas.
Among other winners was Rishab Shetty who was given the special jury award. The Best Actor (Female) award went to French actor Melanie Thierry for her film Party of Fools. Iranian actor Pouria Rahimi Sam won the award for Best Actor (Male) for his performance in the movie Endless Borders. Regar Azad Kaya won the award for Best Debutant Director for his Syrian-Arab Republic film,When the Seedlings Grow. Germany's Endless Borders won the coveted Golden Peacock Award for Best Film. Deepak Kumar Mishra-directed show Panchayat season two bagged the best OTT series award.
“With everything going on in our world today this festival is a reminder of the magic of movie-making. Cinema is one of the few mediums that has the power to unite and transform us. Cinema can make people laugh, cry or rejoice and reveal our shared humanity and today our global language of cinema is more meaningful than ever,” Michael said as he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Information and Broadcast Anurag Singh Thakur for the honour.
The 54th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) concluded in Goa on Tuesday.
(With inputs from agencies)
