Indian filmmaker Di Sica Ray has won a Special Jury Mention in the First Film Competition at the 37th edition of FIDMarseille, with her debut feature A Requiem in Bishkek. The India-France co-production was among the standout first features recognised at the French festival, which announced its awards on Sunday.
The 77-minute film, which had its world premiere at the festival, shared the Special Jury Mention with South Korean filmmaker Mokya Shin's Easter. The First Film Competition Award went to Brazilian director Denise Vieira's You Know Me, Now Forget It.
The recognition adds another international festival accolade for an Indian filmmaker this year, with A Requiem in Bishkek marking Di Sica Ray's arrival on the global festival circuit through one of Europe's leading showcases for auteur and formally adventurous cinema.
In the festival's International Competition, the Grand Prix was awarded to Spanish filmmaker Eloy Enciso Cachafeiro for Todo es Cárcel (Letters from an Inner Exile). Anna Marziano's Foam of Worlds and Jean-Claude Rousseau's Last Stop for the Circular Ticket received Special Jury Mentions, while Foam of Worlds also won the Georges de Beauregard International Award.
The Audience Award went to Mother, You Have Not Died Yet. But You Will. And When You Do, You Will Finally Be Alive Again. by South Africa-born filmmaker Advik Beni, while Chilean-Qatari co-production Az Zeeb won the festival's Audience Award recognition.
Founded in 1989, FIDMarseille is one of Europe's most respected festivals devoted to independent, documentary, and experimental cinema. Held annually in the French port city of Marseille, it is known for championing formally innovative works and emerging filmmakers from around the world.
