asian Festival of First Films 2009 awards

Singapore – Looking for Anne won awards for Best Film and Best Director at the 5th annual Asian Festival of First Films (AFFF), a festival that honours first-time filmmakers. Looking for Anne is the story of a 17-year-old Japanese girl on Prince Edward Island with a secret mission to find her deceased grandmother’s first love, a Canadian war veteran. Looking for Anne is directed by Takako Miyahira of Japan.

Also taking top honours is For Real from India, a heartrending depiction of a family caught up in its own tragedy, which bagged honours for best Best Screenplay, Best Producer (Sona Jain), Best Actor (Zoya S. Hasan) and Best Actress (Sriharsh Sharma Churai).

The awards were decided by an international jury made up of award winning filmmakers and internationally-acclaimed producers Ana Kokkinos (Australia), a multi-award winning filmmaker from Australia, Chris Lee (Hawaii), notable film producer of blockbusters Superman Returns and SWAT, and Kabir Khan (India), the AFFF’s Best Director winner in 2007.

“This year’s films captivated our hearts and minds and transported us from the mud huts of Afghanistan to the Canadian countryside and the slums of Mumbai to the back alleys of Singapore. Each year, the festival grows in stature and first-time filmmakers take heart that they too have a platform created specially for them where their dreams can unfold,” noted Sanjoy Roy, festival director.

AFFF is a part of the annual Asia Media Festival (AMF), which is supported by Singapore’s Media Development Authority (MDA).

“The AFFF has once again shone the spotlight on budding film talent in Asia with a body of work that reflects the heart and soul of Asia. In this light, every nominee is a winner. I am confident that the AFFF will continue to bring to the fore promising talents with quality films that resonate with an international audience,” said Ms Cassandra Tay, director communications and community and international relations, MDA.

For this year’s competition, a total of 700 entries were received from 28 countries. A total of 22 nominated films and documentaries vied for 11 awards. The winners and films are:

• Best Film: Looking for Anne

• Best Producer: Sona Jain (For Real)

• Best Director: Takako Miyahira (Looking for Anne)

• Best Screenplay/ Script: Tie between For Real and Land Gold Woman

• Best Cinematographer/ Editor: Shweta Venkat

(Superman of Malegaon)

• Best Male Actor: Sriharsh Sharma Churai (For Real)

• Best Female Actor: Zoya S. Hasan (For Real)

• Best Documentary: Superman of Malegaon

• Best Director of Documentary: Tie between Faiza Ahmad Khan (Superman of Malegaon) and Jawed Taiman (Addicted in Afghanistan)

• Best Short Film: Vitthal

(directed by Vinoo Choliparambil)

• Foreign Correspondents Association Purple Orchid Award: Land Gold Woman by Avantika Hari, Vivek Agrawal

Land Gold Woman tells about the tough choice an immigrant Indian professor in Birmingham faces, between saving his family’s name or his teenage daughter when she is found to be in an illicit relationship.

Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, who headed the Foreign Correspondents Association (FCA) jury for the FCA Purple Orchid Award, commented, “The overall level of entries was good but the jury felt that Land Gold Woman from India was able to portray the dilemma that Asians cope with having to face the world and their families in a perpetual struggle between globalisation and their roots.”