PANAJI, India – Veteran Hollywood actor and producer Michael Douglas was honored with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th International Film Festival of India, which concluded on Tuesday.
What you need to know
- “I’m humbled,” said the two-time Academy Award winner, 79.
- “Today, our universal cinematic language is more meaningful than ever,” Douglas said.
- Iranian film “Infinite Frontier” directed by Abbas Amini won the Golden Peacock for best film at the annual festival in Goa, India.
- As one of the oldest and most popular film industries in the world, releasing around 1,500 films a year, Indian films enjoy a large domestic market.
The two-time Academy Award winner, 79, said he was “humbled” and that with everything going on in the world, the festival was “to remember the magic of filmmaking”.
“Cinema is one of the few media that has the power to unite us and transform us. It transcends divisions of geography, race, language and even time,” he said.
“Today, our universal cinematic language is more meaningful than ever,” Douglas added.
Iranian film “Infinite Frontier” directed by Aba Amini has won the Golden Peacock for best film at the annual festival in India’s beautiful tourist destination, Goa.
“The film shows how complex physical boundaries can be, but nothing is more complicated than the emotional and moral boundaries you impose on yourself,” the judges said in the citation.
The film is about an Iranian teacher in a poor village on the border between Afghanistan and Iran, who meets a family that has fled Afghanistan due to threats from the Taliban.
“With what’s going on in the world right now, with the incredible conflicts that are happening, the wars on our borders, it’s so important to tell our story,” said Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, the global chairman. “Elizabeth” and the latest “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” “If we tell our stories to people and people cross borders with each other, everywhere, we will help each other,” said Judge, who is directing films including.
Other members of the international jury are Spanish cinematographer José Luis Alcain, French producers Jerome Paillard and Catherine Dussart, and Australian producer Helen Lake.
As one of the oldest and most popular film industries in the world, releasing around 1,500 films annually, Indian films have a large domestic market.
Films in regional Indian languages, most of which are associated with local culture, are also beginning to gain a foothold on the international stage. Earlier this year, India celebrated two Academy Awards – the high-energy Best Original Song “Naatu Naatu” from the blockbuster Telugu language action epic “RRR” and the Best Short Documentary on Netflix “Elephant Whisper”.
The Indian government, which organizes the festival, has announced a new incentive scheme for foreign film productions to boost international cooperation.
Douglas said Indian films were reaching a global audience thanks to the digital revolution and distribution services.
“No matter what country you’re in, making a good film is something that’s personal to your country, then realizing that it has a global message, it’s all in the material and you have to do it for yourself,” he said. .
