Indian Films Shine At Cannes 2024: 'Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know' Wins | Watch A Glimpse

At the Cannes Film Festival 2024, Indian cinema witnessed a significant moment as Payal Kapdia's film "All We Imagine As Light" was selected in the competition section, ending a drought of 30 years for Indian cinema.

Additionally, Indian filmmaker Chidananda S Naik's short film "Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know" won the 1st prize of La Cinef for Best Short at the festival, as reported by India Today.

'Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know' Wins La Cinef For Best Short

Another Indian filmmaker, Mansi Maheshwari's film "Bunnyhood," secured the third prize in the same category. While "Bunnyhood" is a UK film, it was created by a filmmaker based in Meerut. The La Cinef Awards were announced on May 23. Cannes will award a grant of 15,000 euros for the first prize, and 11,250 euros and 7,500 euros for the second and third prizes, respectively, as per media reports.

Chidanananda S Naik, a student of FTII, Pune, achieved the first prize with his film "Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know" among 17 other films. Reportedly, the category comprised 18 films by film students from 2,263 applicants from 555 film schools globally.

"Sunflowers were..." is a 16-minute short story depicting a village thrown into chaos by an elderly woman who steals a rooster. To retrieve the rooster, a prophecy is invoked, leading to the old lady's family being sent into exile. Meanwhile, Mansi Maheshwari, born in Meerut, created "Bunnyhood" as part of her graduation project at the National Film Television School (NFTS) in London.

The second prize was shared by Columbia University's "Our The Window Through The Wall" by Asya Segalovich and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki's "The Chaos She Left Behind" by Nikos Kolioukos.