FAF: Indian film Court wins Grand Prix

BELGRADE - The film Court by Indian director Chaitanya Tamhane has won the Aleksandar Petrovic Grand Prix at the 20th Art Film Festival (FAF).

Chaitanya, who both directed and wrote the script for Court, received the award at the closing ceremony at Dom Omladine in Belgrade on Wednesday.

Official of the Aleksandar Petrovic Foundation Bozidar Radenkovic presented the award, which included a EUR 5,000 cheque.

Tamhane said he was surprised by the award, adding that everyone had told him the FAF was a great festival, but that he now realised it was true since the event was run by those who also made films themselves.

He said that his friends from Serbia had told him the award was named after a great Serbian director, and that it was therefore very important to him.

The decision to make Court the winner of the festival was made by a jury comprising Serbian flim director Goran Markovic, who served as the head of the jury, Berlinale Forum programme selection head Christoff Terechte (Germany) and German actress and script writer who has won awards herself Anna Brueggemann.

The Grand Prix was given to a film that persuades the audience in an intelligent and very originally structured way, by following not just one, but several characters who are part of the same trial while carefully balancing sympathy and perspective, the jury stated.

Instead of being merely a portrait of its main character, this enchanting court drama becomes a portrait of India, they stressed.

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