Avantika Hari's first feature wins two prestigious prizes - see below
Indian film wins prestigious Purple Orchid Best Film award in Singapore
“Land Gold Women”, the world’s first English feature to explore the issue of honour killings bagged the prestigious Foreign Correspondent Association’s (FCA) Purple Orchid award for Best Film and the Best Script/Screenplay award at a glittering ceremony held at the renowned Raffles Hotel organized by the Asian Festival of First Films in Singapore.
The festival which ran for a week from the 28th of November to the 5th of December showcased films made by emerging Asian talent. A total of 700 entries were received from 28 countries. A total of 22 nominated films and documentaries vied for 11 awards.
“Land Gold Women”, written and directed by Avantika Hari and produced by Vivek Agrawal premiered in the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India this year. The film received rave reviews for it’s “engaging and compelling story line which reaches out to an international audience, strong performance by the cast and a well crafted production.”
Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, who headed the Foreign Correspondents Association (FCA) jury for the FCA Purple Orchid Award, commented, “I’ve been heading the FCA jury for 4 years and usually we have heated discussions about which film should win, but this year it was clear cut. The jury especially liked Land Gold Women because it dealt with a very controversial issue in a restrained and sensitive way, which made its message very powerful.” The winning film 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.
The film was shot in Birmingham UK, and stars newcomers Narinder Samra, Neelam Parmar, Ali Zahoor and Renu Brindle in key roles. They are supported by Hassani Shapi (The World is Not Enough, Star Wars) and Christopher Villiers (Sliding Doors, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Bloody Sunday, Kidulthood)
Avantika HariWriter/Director/Co Producer "Land Gold Women " http://www.aricherlens.comDubai: +971 50 101 6096
Mumbai: +91 983 399 4093London: +44 755 199 6753Avantika is currently in Mumbai_
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