Danish film 'Into the Darkness' wins Golden Peacock award at IFFI (Ld)

Danish film "Into the Darkness" won the prestigious Golden Peacock award for the "Best Film" at the 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which came to a glittering close on Sunday.

The "Best Director" award was presented to Chen-Nien Ko, who directed the Taiwanese film "Silent Forest". Tzu-Chuan Liu, who was the lead actor in "Silent Forest" was honoured with the "Best Male Actor" award.

The awards were presented at the closing ceremony of the festival held in Panaji.

"Best Female Actor" award was won by Polish actor Zofia Stafiej for her performance in the Polish film "I Never Cry".

The "Special Jury" award was presented to the film "February" by Bulgarian filmmaker Kamen Kavlev.

The "Best Debut Director" award and a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh was won by Brazilian Director Cassio Pereira Dos Santos for his film "Valentina".

The ICFT-UNESCO UNESCO Gandhi Award was presented to Palestinian director Ameen Nayfeh's Arabic fim '200 Metres'.

Veteran actor Biswajit was presented with the personality of the year award, while actor and Lok Sabha MP Ravi Kishan was also honoured for his contribution to Indian cinema.

224 films from sixty countries were screened at the 51st edition of the IFFI, which was organised in a hybrid format, with movies and events held at the festival venue as well as in the virtual format.

199 screenings were physically screened in auditoriums at the festival venue, out of which 85 were national and international movie premiers.

80-year-old Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro was presented with the lifetime achievement award, while the 'country focus' section this time round was dedicated to cinema from Bangladesh.

A selection of 23 feature and 20 non-feature films were also showcased in the Indian Panorama section of the festival, while the event also celebrated 100 years of film icon Satyajit Ray.

Tags: Cinema, Showbiz, Bollywood