Breaking News : Variety // Thailand’s Anucha Boonyawatana won the Silver Screen Award for “Malila: The Farewell Flower.”

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Iranian debut film, “Disappearance” was the winner of the best film prize at the Silver Screen Awards, the competitive section of the Singapore International Film Festival.

Directed by Ali Asgari, the film tells the story of two young lovers who run from hospital to hospital, and are confronted with numerous obstacles, including bureaucratic terror. The story is entirely told in one night. The film also earned lead actress Sadaf Asgari the Silver Screen award for best performer.

The competition jury, headed by India’s Shekhar Kapur, said the film has “such amazing simplicity, truth and compassion, and yet convey(s) the complexity of a whole culture and human relationships that resonate deeply, whichever culture you belong to.”

Thailand’s Anucha Boonyawatana won the Silver Screen Award for “Malila: The Farewell Flower.” The film probes mysteries of love and spiritual redemption. The jury said it was a “quiet, extremely sensitive, beautifully shot exploration of fundamental themes of our existence.”

The Silver Screen Awards were presented on the penultimate evening of the festival. “Disappearance” was played again on Sunday at the National Museum of Singapore. “Call Me By Your Name” was announced on Sunday as winner of the audience choice prize and was also re-screened. Organizers announced that the festival had attracted some 14,000 admissions.

The awards ceremony at the Mastercard Theatre in the Marina Bay Sands complex, was dotted with multiple moving tributes to departed festival personalities.

Lesley Ho, the former co-director of the festival who worked in various capacities for the development of Singapore cinema, died in 2017. Her son and two daughters accepted a plaque in her memory and called attention to her championing of brave films.

Kim Ji-seok, co-founder of the Busan International Film Festival, and international advisory board member of SGIFF, also passed this year and his legacy of discovering was new Asian talent was remembered. Busan programmer Kim Young-woo accepted the plaque on his family’s behalf.

Indonesian filmmaker Mouly Surya presented the SGIFFHonorary Award to her compatriot Garin Nugroho. “He made a path and we follow it and that’s how it will always be,” said Surya.

Yuni Hadi, SGIFF executive director, and “Reign of Assassins” producer Terencce Chang presented the Cinema Legend Award to top Japanese actor Koji Yakusho. The actor had earlier featured in a packed In Conversation event at Singapore’s ArtScience Museum.

Best feature film
“Disappearance” (aka “Napadid Shodan”) dir. Ali Asgari

Best director
Anucha Boonyawatana for “Malila: The Farewell Flower”

Best performance
Sadaf Asgari in “Disappearance”

Special mention
“Scaffolding” (aka “Pigumim”) dir. Matan Yair

Audience Choice Award

“Call Me By Your Name”

Best Southeast Asian short film
“Jodilerks Dela Cruz, Employee of the Month” dir. Carlo Francisco Manatad

Best Singapore short film
Winner: “Between Us Two” dir. Tan Wei Keong

Special mention

“The Malediction” dir. Makbul Mubarak

Best short film director
Sorayos Prapapan

Youth jury prize
“Death of the Sound Man” (aka “Awasarn Sound Man”) dir. Sorayos Prapapan

Honorary award
Garin Nugruho

Cinema legend award
Koji Yakusho

Inspiring woman in film award
Ana Urushadze

Breaking News : Variety // ‘Sexy Durga’ Release Certification Rescinded by Indian Censors

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‘Sexy Durga’ Release Certification Rescinded by Indian Censors

By Naman Ramachandran
The on-off saga of releasing “Sexy Durga” in India has come to a sorry conclusion, for now. The film did not play at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, despite a court order requiring that it should be. Instead, it must now be re-certified by India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s film won the Hivos Tiger award at Rotterdam earlier this year and played at the Singapore International Film Festival last week. But it is proving too controversial to play in its country of origin.Along with “Nude,” the film was dropped from the Goa festival line-up on technical grounds. The head of the Panorama section’s selection committee and two others resigned, while several other jury members signed a letter of protest.

Sasidharan moved the Kerala High Court, who ordered the festival to screen the film. The version to be screened was a censored version certified by the CBFC where the title was changed to ‘S Durga’ (Durga is the name of an Indian goddess and a popular female name) to avoid offending Hindu religious sentiments. Swear words were also muted. India’s information and broadcasting ministry appealed against the court decision, but it was quashed.

The Panorama selectors, with three new members replacing the ones who resigned, viewed the film again on Nov. 27, the penultimate day of IFFI, and put it to a vote. The jury voted 7-4 in favor of screening the film.

On Nov. 28, the last day of IFFI, the CBFC issued a letter to the film’s producer Shaji Mathew stating: “We have received complaints from the IFFI (selectors) at Goa that the title of the film on the title card is shown by the film maker as “S### Durga” (where the # means rectangular white boxes) which has totally different implications and are effectively undermining and attempting to defeat the very basis of the title registration and changes effected thereby.”

The CBFC said that the filmmakers are in violation of the Cinematograph Act and the film will be re-examined. Until then, the film cannot be exhibited. IFFI concluded without screening the film. The CBFC letter provided an excuse to the festival and the ministry who would have been in contempt of court if they had not screened the film.

The censored “S Durga” played at the Mumbai Film Festival and at a commercial screening in Thiruvananthapuram without a hitch. It will now have to go through another battle before the rest of India can watch it.