Chinese filmmaker Xiaozhi Rao was awarded Best Director for the film Home Coming during the closing ceremony of the event in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), home of the famous Hindi language film industry Bollywood.
For his part, the Kazakh Askar Ilyasov was the best actor for Paralympic and the Uzbek Rano Shodiyeva was selected as the best actress for The Fate of a Woman in this edition of the SCO Film Festival, which presented 58 works from 14 countries.
The ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Prasoon Joshi, and other film industry figures.
The competition section, limited to films from the SCO group of countries, presented the jury with a difficult choice as each of the films displayed the highest level of cinematographic excellence, organizers said.
The Russian film Don’t Bury Me Without Ivan, directed by Liubov Borisova, won the Special Jury Prize, while the Kyrgyz film The Road to Eden, directed by Bakyt Mukul and Dastan Zhapar, received a special mention for its message of hope and warning.about the risk of losing cultural values in turbulent times.
The jury also awarded the Tajik film Fortune, directed by Muhyiddin Muzaffar, a special mention for the remarkable cast of actors who immerse the audience in the experience of the value of true friendship.
In addition to the screenings, the seventh arts event featured master classes and talks with the participation of eminent filmmakers and actors from SCO member countries and Indian film personalities.
The meeting was organized by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting through the National Film Development Corporation to mark the Indian Presidency of the SCO, an intergovernmental organization that also includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Iran.
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