Film Southasia ’24 Doc Fest ends

Film Southasia Festival of Documentaries, which opened on November 21 by director Kabir Khan, wrapped up on November 24, awarding the Ram Bahadur Trophy for the Best film to 6-A Akash Ganga directed by Nirmal Chander Dhandriyal.

The three-member jury noted of 6-A Akash Ganga: “A mesmerising tribute to the enigmatic Hindustani classical musician Annapurna Devi, whose genius shaped generations yet whose life remains shrouded in mystery. Directed with sensitivity and reverence, the film masterfully combines archival footage, intimate interviews, and rare performances to peel back the layers of a recluse who became a legend.”

The Jury Award was split between two films Devi by Subina Shrestha and Chardi Kala – An Ode to Resilience by Prateek Shekhar, with the jury noting: “The two exceptional films, each addressing the profound undercurrents of conflict in Southasia, are being awarded the Jury Prize jointly, standing together as equal bearers of the region’s most urgent stories.”

Additionally, this year, Film Southasia honored filmmaker Anand Patwardhan with the ‘Documentary Stalwart Award’, honoring his decades of productions focused “on social justice, humanity and memory”.

The Best Student Film Award went to Hello Guyzz! by Samiksha Mathur. The Tareque Masud Best Debut Film Award was awarded to Siege in the Air by Muntaha Amin. The Best Film on Depiction of the Climate Crisis, sponsored by ICIMOD, went to A Flaming Forest by Salman Javeed, Vivek Singh Sangwan and Satya Ambasta.

This year’s edition of the biennial Southasian film festival featured 47 films from nine countries, screened over four days. With the theme, Documentary in Anthropocene, this year’s festival focused on the alarming ecological deterioration of the planet, including in Southasia, while also presenting many documentaries that touched on Southasian lives across boundaries.

The festival was also host to workshops and discussions, kicking off with a directing workshop with chief guest Kabir Khan. ‘Kathaharu’ and the ‘WOW Festival’ conducted masterclasses with Jane Mote, The Whickers, UK, and film editor Shweta Venkat, in collaboration with Film Southasia. Other discussions were held on the themes ‘Understanding the Anthropocene’, ‘The Evolution of the Nepali Documentary’’ and ‘The Sudden Runaway Success of Nepali Cinema’.

The jury, consisting of Farjad Nabi (Lahore), Anitha Pottumkulam (Chennai) and Kiran Krishna Shrestha (Kathmandu), in their closing remarks, highlighted the importance and urgency of the theme related to human-induced deterioration of the environment, “This year’s theme—Anthropocene—is not just timely but essential. It is a stark reminder that what we share cannot be restrained by borders.”