Chidananda S. Naik (second from left) after profitable the highest prize of La Cinef at Cannes.
| Photograph Credit score: @Chidanandasnaik/X
Mysuru filmmaker Chidananda S. Naik, a Movie and Tv Institute of India pupil (FTII), gained the primary prize of La Cinef on the Cannes movie competition. Mr. Naik’s brief movie, Sunflowers Had been the First Ones to Know, bagged the highest prize on the Bunuel Theatre in Cannes.
Mr. Naik’s 15-minute brief movie, impressed by a Kannada folktale, was picked from 2,263 entries for the competitors from 555 movie faculties throughout the globe.
“Choice at Cannes is an opportunity for publicity and interplay with different worldwide filmmakers. I hope to see extra Kannada movies reaching Cannes sooner or later,” Mr. Naik had instructed The Hindu in an interview forward of the competition.
Mr. Naik obtained a stipend of 15,000 euros from the competition for his victory. “We obtained simply 4 days to shoot. Capturing totally at evening with restricted assets was robust,” mentioned Mr. Naik, a doctor-turned-filmmaker.
Sunflowers Had been the First Ones to Know revolves round an aged lady who disrupts a village’s concord by stealing their prized rooster, plunging the group into perpetual darkness. Suraj Thakur is the cinematographer, whereas Abhishek Kadam is the sound engineer. Manoj V. has achieved the enhancing.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah congratulated Mr. Naik for his victory. “As a proud Kannadiga, it’s inspiring to see you deliver Kannada folklore to the worldwide stage. I’m certain it can encourage many extra to pursue their ardour and obtain nice heights,” he wrote on X.
Kannada actor Yash, actor R. Madhavan, the FTII, and Union Minister Anurag Thakur additionally congratulated the winner on social media.
Mr. Naik is the second Indian to win the La Cinef award. In 2020, Ashmita Guha Neogi clinched the honour for her brief movie CatDog.
