Documentaries by Nirmal Chander Dandriyal, Nishtha Jain Clinch Top Awards at MIFF 2024

The 2024 Mumbai International Film Festival, a prestigious event celebrating the art of documentaries, short fiction, and animation films, concluded on Friday with filmmakers Nirmal Chander Dandriyal and Nishtha Jain receiving top honors. Dandriyal's "6-A Akash Ganga," offering an intimate look into the life of music legend Annapurna Devi, and Jain's "The Golden Thread," a film capturing the essence of the industrial revolution's last breaths, stood out in the national and international documentary categories, respectively.

Organized by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and executed by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), the festival showcased 314 films from 59 countries. For the first time, the festival expanded beyond Mumbai to include Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Pune, broadening its reach and influence.

Awards spanned various categories including best Indian documentary, short film, animation, debut film - sponsored by the Maharashtra government, and student film - sponsored by the Indian Documentary Producers Association. "Salt" by Barkha Prashant Naik clinched the award for best Indian short fiction film up to 30 minutes. Gaurav Pati's "Nirjara" was recognized as the best Indian animation film, while "A Coconut Tree" by Joshy Benedicts received a Special Mention.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari Award for best debut director was presented to Elvachisa Ch Sangma and Dipankar Das for their short film "Chanchisoa Expectation." Sreemoyee Singh's "And, Towards Happy Alleys" won the Best Student Film award. Edmond Ranson's "Life in Loom," highlighting India in Amrit Kaal, was awarded the best short film on theme.

In technical achievements, Suraj Thakur was named best cinematographer for "Entangled." The best editor accolades went to Irene Dhar Mallik and Anuja Thakkar for "From the Shadows," while Abhijeet Sarkar won best sound designer for "Dhara Ka Tem Time for Milking."

The international segment saw "Sour Milk" from Estonia winning best short fiction film and Poland’s "Zima" securing best animation film. The Promod Pati Award for most innovative experimental film was awarded to Japan’s Liam Lopinto for "The Old and Young Crow."

"The Golden Thread" also garnered recognition in sound design for Niraj Gera, while Vignesh Kumulai received the best editor award for "Karparaa." Babin Dulal was honored as best cinematographer for Nepal’s "Dhorpatan," with Matt Waldeck’s American film "Lovely Jackson" receiving a special jury mention.

The festival attracted notable attendees including Sudhir Mungantiwar, Maharashtra’s minister of cultural affairs, along with actors Chhaya Kadam, Shekhar Suman, Akshay Oberoi, Vivek Vaswani, and Poonam Dhillon. This year's event not only celebrated cinematic excellence but also highlighted the diverse storytelling prowess from around the globe.