Film/Stage
Punjabi Film Named Best Asian Film in Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF):
Anup Singh's QISSA
BREAKING NEWS
Anup Singh's Punjabi film 'Qissa' won the NETPAC Award for the top World or International Asian Film at the 38th Toronto International Film Festival that concluded last week.
"The NETPAC Award for the best Asian film at festival 2013 goes to Qissa, directed by Anup Singh, for its sensitive portrayal of the issues of identity and displacement that affect people not only in India, but in all parts of the world and for brilliance of cinematic craft and the choice of metaphor that has been employed to tell a moving story that is bound to provoke thought, spark debate and give its viewers an intense experience," the jury said.
Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema awarded the film, starring Irrfan Khan, et al, for brilliantly addressing the topic of "identity and displacement".
Director Anup Singh, elated by the news, remarked:
“Today's my wedding anniversary and my wife had just tucked away a bottle of champagne into the fridge when I had the phone call from my producer, Johannes Rexin, that ‘Qissa’ has been awarded the NETPAC Jury's award for best world/international premiere in TIFF's Contemporary World Cinema section.
“I am grateful and humbled that my film about a refugee on this earth, a film in a minority language like Punjabi, can find a home finally within the wondrous community that is world cinema today.
“I thank the NETPAC jury, Cameron Bailey and TIFF, my resolute producers, ‘Match Factory‘, and my dear and glorious cast -- Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome and Rasika Duggal. And finally the crew, in India, Germany, France, Netherlands -- my dear colleagues, I salute you!”
The NETPAC jury included Jay Jeon (Korea), Intishal Al Timimi (Abu Dhabi) and Freddie Wong (Hong Kong).
'Qissa' is an Indo-European venture, a co-production between India/ Germany/ The Netherlands/ France and is represented by sales agent, ‘The Match Factory‘.
Its co-producers are NFDC India, Heimatfilm (Germany), Augustus Film (Netherlands/Dutch), and Cine-sud Promotion (France).
Set in the era following the tragic Partition of Punjab, the film revolves around a Sikh, Umber Singh, attempting to forge a new life for his family while keeping their true identities a secret from their community.
September 16, 2013