Singapore South Asian International Film Festival (Saiff) was a ten day extravaganza of sublime cinema from across the South Asian region packed with 35 films from across South Asia, multiple panel discussions, master classes, red carpet opening and a grand closing ceremony has set the pulse of the Singapore cinephiles racing. The festival concluded on the 9th of September with much fanfare and celebration at the Star Vista Arena on the evening of the 9th of September 2017.
The highlight of the evening was the awards for the films shown at the festival.
Below is the list of Winners:
1. Best Feature Film- Lathe Joshi ( Marathi Language), Dir: Mangesh Joshi
2. Audience Prize for Best Film- Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai ( Hindi) Dir: Soumitra Ranade
3. Best Short film – Son of Kali ( Bengali language ), Dir: Amit Agarwal
4. Best Short Documentary – Is it too much to Ask? ( Tamil/English) Dir: Leena Manimekalai
Notable Celebrities in Attendance
Gala Opening Celebrities – Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Manoj Bajpayee, Abhay Deol, along with regional cinema stars like Mumtaz Sorcar, Dulquer Salmaan, Neha Sharma, and singers Mohit Chauhan and Neha Kakkar.
Other Celebrities – Adoor Gopalakirishnan, Girish Kasaravalli, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Siddiq Barmak, Prasanna Vithanage, Mustafa Sarwar Farooqi and K Rajagopal, Saurabh Shukla, Manav Kaul
Meet and Greet with the Stars
The evening on the 8th of September was a rare opportunity to meet and greet leading celebrities from India like Manoj Bajpayee, Abhay Deol, along with regional cinema stars like Dulquer Salmaan, Neha Sharma, and singers Mohit Chauhan and Neha Kakkar. It was selfie time for star struck fans last they mingled in a room which was supercharged with electrifying presence of the stars.
Sharing his experience, Festival Chairman Abhayanand Singh says, ‘The festival is a landmark initiative showcasing for the first time in the city, South Asian cinema of such scale and quality. We, therefore, wish to make a big impact and become a significant cultural gateway in the years to come. Through the powerful medium of cinema, we hope to build closer ties between the global city of Singapore and the developing nations of South Asia.’
Artistic Director Amit Agarwal says, ‘The challenge and drive in selecting films for Sg.SAIFF was to create a program that is truthful to the exciting new voices and stories which richly bring out the complexities of South Asia.’
Festival Director Ashok Purang says,’Sg.SAIFF aims to bring together an exclusive gathering of film makers, actors, film critics, and industry players to engage in vibrant discussions on the larger transformative role of cinema as a craft, representation, and industry in current times.’
Leave a Reply