| Documentary Films | Short Films | Feature Films |
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Documentary Films
(Jury: Naziha Syed Ali, Shandana Minhas, Meenu Gaur) |
| Best Documentary
TIE between |
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Superman of Malagaon by Faiza Ahmed Khan / INDIA |
| Superman of Malagaon, a thoroughly absorbing spoof within a spoof about guerilla filmmaking at its most innovative in the district of Malagaon, was funny, nuanced and ultimately empowering.
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Kesan Lapsi (Summerchild) by Iris Olsson / FINLAND |
| The stylistically brilliant Kesan Lapsi (Summerchild) let eleven-year old 'sponsored child' Svetlana's life unfold with sensitivity and subtlety. |
DOCUMENTARY JURY'S NOTE FOR THE 7TH INTERNATIONAL KARAFILM FESTIVAL
The documentaries screened at this year's Kara ranged in scope from 90 minute features to 6 minute vignettes, presenting a real challenge to the jury. Snow leopard: Beyond the Myth, Le Couleur Du Sacrifice, The Halfmoon Files and Under Construction were noteworthy for their sophisticated treatment of socially relevant issues. Riding Solo to the Top of the World, Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears and Tumhara Zikar carried us along on intimate, personal journeys, but ultimately two films stood out from the rest.
Despite their best efforts the jury was unable to choose between them. This year's Ciepie for best documentary is thus a tie between Superman of Malagaon and Kesan Lapsi, for their inspiring, evocative, multilayered engagement with issues of deprivation and idealism.
The jury also would also like to make special mention of the documentary Talking Faith for its courageous and insightful examination of interfaith politics in everyday life as opposed to in a time of crisis, as is the norm. |
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SHORT FILMS
(Jury: Andre Hoermann, Faiza Khan, Amean Jan) |
| BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM |
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Match Factor by Maheen Zia / GERMANY |
| A tale of the brief but telling encounter between a German policewoman and a visiting Iraqi soccer player, and the cultural expectations of both parties, Match Factor satisfies every aspect of filmmaking from acting to production. Furthermore, it handles a sensitive and topical issue with subtlety and a laudable lightness of touch. |
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| BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM Tie Between |
![Même les Pigeons Vont au Paradis [Even Pigeons Go To Heaven]](../images/kara_2009/shorts/evenpigeons.jpg) |
Même les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go To Heaven) by Ale Camargo / FRANCE |
| An amusing and thoroughly entertaining take on the hypocrisy of religiosity, satirising an encounter between a priest and an old man preparing for the afterlife. Credible characterisation, witty and well-executed.
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Sam by Meezan Ali Mir / PAKISTAN |
| A scathing look at the immaturity of American foreign policy during the Bush era, setting the war on terror in a playground. A short and clever analogy using an entirely different approach to a familiar subject. |
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Feature Films
(Jury: Hameed Haroon, Mohammad Hanif, Talat Aslam, Javed Shaikh, Ayeshah Alam, Khusro Mumtaz) |
| BEST MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE |
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Rasheed Naz in Khuda Ke Liye (In The Name of God) |
| Rasheed Naz gives a powerful performance that brings to life the debate at the heart of Khuda Ke Liye. He makes the reactionary maulvi so chillingly, uncomfortably real and convincing -- in terms of his enunciation, rhetoric and body language -- that he becomes more than a straw man who can easily be brushed aside. |
| BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE |
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Hina Dilpazir Khan in Burnes Road Ki Nilofer (Nilofer of Burnes Road) |
| While it took note of the strong performances of Maria Wasti in Ramchand Pakistani and Shahana Goswami in Firaaq, the jury unanimously decided that for the sheer spontaneity and astute observation of her performance as the hassled lower middle class mother of 9 children, who must tend to her brood as best she can and keep an eye on and match wits with her domineering husband, a seductive neighbour and a precocious adolescent daughter, the Ciepie for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role should go to Hina Khan in Burnes Road Ki Nilofer (Nilofer of Burnes Road). The force of her performance is all the more remarkable considering this was her acting debut. |
| BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY |
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Agnes Godard for Nuovomondo (The Golden Door) |
| The jury was particularly impressed with the cinematography of a few films such as Firaaq and Khoon Bazi (Mainline). However, for her evocative work in filming stark Sicilian landscapes, the confined spaces of a transatlantic ship jammed with émigrés, the grey harshness of immigration cell blocks, and the fabulist imagery integral to a tale of death and rebirth, past and future, the award for Best Cinematography goes to Agnes Godard for the film Nuovomondo (The Golden Door). |
| BEST EDITING |
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Andrew Bird for Auf der Anderen Seite (The Edge of Heaven) |
| A complex story with multiple strands spanning two cultures and tracking numerous characters whose lives intersect in various ways-- is held together firmly by sharp editing that never allows the audience to lose the thread of the complex narrative. |
| BEST MUSICAL SCORE |
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Ardavan Kamkar and Mohsen Chavoshi for Santouri |
| There was extremely tough competition for this award since in contention were three films whose stories actually revolved around music itself. The strong contenders included Khuda Ke Liye (In the Name of God), Beynelmilel (The International), Santouri and Ramchand Pakistani. After much deliberation, however, the jury has decided that the best musical score award goes to Ardavan Kamkar and Mohsen Chavoshi for their evocative music which perfectly complemented the scenes in director Darius Mehrjui's Santouri, from the songs to the classic sound of the the santouri itself... beautiful! |
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| BEST MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE |
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Cezmi Baskin as Abuzer in Beynelmilel (The International) |
| In a field where there were a number of strong male leads such as Luca Zingaretti in Sanguepazzo (Wild Blood) and Vincenzo Amato in Nuovomondo (The Golden Door), Cezmi Baskin's Abuzer stood out for his poise and humour. Playing a struggling musician who has been coopted by the military junta, Cezmi turned a very complex character into a lovable everyman. |
| SPECIAL JURY AWARD FOR ACTING |
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Rashid Farooqi in Ramchand Pakistani |
| Ramchand Pakistani had an excellent ensemble cast but it was Rashid Farooqi who stood out with his intense screen presence and an explosive performance. The jury feels that Rashid deserves this special recognition because he brought power and eloquence to a mostly silent and supporting role. |
| BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE |
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Bita Farahi in Khoon Bazi (Mainline) |
| Two strong contenders for this award included Faiza Hassan playing the precocious title role in Burnes Road Ki Nilofer (Nilofer of Burnes Road) and Baran Kosari playing the role of the addicted daughter in Khoon Bazi (Mainline). However, after much deliberation, for her subtle yet heart-breaking performance as a mother desperately trying to help her young daughter beat a drug addiction ahead of an impending marriage while battling her own feelings of shame and guilt over her daughter's situation, the Ciepie for the Best Female Actor in a Leading Role goes to Bita Farahi in Khoon Bazi (Mainline). |
| BEST SCREENPLAY |
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Faseeh Bari Khan for Burnes Road Ki Nilofer (Nilofer of Burnes Road) |
| The scripts of Auf der Anderen Seite (The Edge of Heaven), Khoon Bazi (Mainline) and Nuovomondo (The Golden Door) were strong contenders but the jury was unanimous that Burnes Road Ki Nilofer's script was unadulterated joy; involving brilliant characterisation, street smart humour and great story telling. The jury felt that Faseeh Bari has captured the joys and struggles of urban pakistan like it has never been done before and in doing so he has raised a domestic drama to the level of a universal epic about families and neighbours. |
| BEST DIRECTION |
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Muharrem Gülmez and Sırrı Süreyya Önder for Beynelmilel (The International) |
| Strong contenders included Emanuelle Crielese for Nuovomondo (The Golden Door), Rakshan Bani-Etemad and Mohsen Abdolvahab for Khoon Bazi (Mainline). The directors of Beynelmilel (The International), however, tackle an overtly political subject with irony, wit and understated humour. The result is a film which is unabashedly political but never preachy and although the directors take their subject very seriously, they never seem to take themselves too seriously. The result is a playful film about a very grim subject that will resonate in every society that has ever suffered under military tyranny. |
| SPECIAL JURY AWARD |
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Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and Mohsen Abdolvahab for Khoon Bazi (Mainline) |
| The jury felt that a special jury award was in order for a film that featured outstanding performances, a powerful story and brilliant cinematography and editing that perfectly complemented its harrowing progression. For its depiction of the hopelessly destructive power of heroin addiction, its context of a society in denial and its exposition of internal claustrophobia with the expansiveness of a brutalized urban society outside, the Special Jury Award goes to Khoon Bazi (Mainline) and its directors Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and Mohsen Abdolvahab. |
| BEST FEATURE FILM |
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Firaaq (Separation) |
| There were three strong contenders for the award, including Nuovomondo (The Golden Door), Khoon Bazi (Mainline) and Firaaq. For its brutal honesty and candour, its forthright indictment of the savagery that characterized the communal carnage in Gujarat and exposing that communalism is not simply about religions but also involves power, class and gender dynamics, its refusal to compromise on the aesthetics of good filmmaking and its optimism about generating a larger understanding for resolving conflicts and humanity itself, the Ciepie for the Best Feature Film goes to Firaaq. |
Jury Note about Firaaq
Many people might mistakenly believe, especially given the current state of relations between the governments of Pakistan and India, that the choice of Firaaq is an attempt by a festival based in Pakistan to embarrass India regarding its record in Gujarat. However, the jury wishes to emphasize that its reasons for choosing Firaaq as the best feature film of the 7th KaraFilm Festival are far removed from such politicking. Filmmaker Nandita Das has demonstrated through her film that it is possible to explore the contours of a communal holocaust not by focusing on the rancour and prejudice of the perpetrators but instead by looking at the devastation it visits upon the ethos of the victims. In doing so, Nandita Das brings out the healing power of those who strive to provide moral support to the victims through material help and human sympathy. While Firaaq is an eloquent indictment of the savagery that characterized communal frenzy in Gujarat, it is not simply shining a light on the charred remains of a society. It is also a plea for societal forces to come together to reduce the anguish of the victims before it is too late. In the end, the film clearly advocates the need not to turn away or indeed to run away, but to stay behind and fight bigotry with all the dignity and determination that communities can muster. Firaaq is also a testament to the power of cinema to fill a vacuum in public discourse.
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