The Iranian film
At 5 in the afternoon
, portraying the story of a girl who dreams of becoming the President of post-Taliban Afghanistan, on Sunday night bagged the coveted Golden Peacock award at 34th International Film Festival of India.
Bengali director Subhadro Choudhury's Prohor, a powerful tale of crime and punishment, won the Special Jury Silver Peacock while Israeli director Rafanan Alexadrowicz's Journey to Jerusalem was adjudged the most promising Asian director Silver Peacock award.
The awards were presented by Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
The films were selected from eleven entries for the Asian competition section, for which the jury comprised Hugarian director Istvan Gaal, Chinese director Xiaolian Peng, Indian director Girish Kasaravalli, noted columnist Gautaman Bhaskaran and was headed by legendary Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi.
Makhmalbaf's film was selected for its powerful cinematic style and message of hope in a dramatic and desperate situation. The director, who could not attend the function, informed through her message that she has decided to donate the entire award amount of Rs 5 lakh to NGOs working in the area of human rights and women's empowerment.
Accepting his award for his "paradoxical vision of basic values lost in a consumerist world," Alexandrowicz said he was amazed by the cinema audience India has, "which we don't have in our countries."
{{/usCountry}}Accepting his award for his "paradoxical vision of basic values lost in a consumerist world," Alexandrowicz said he was amazed by the cinema audience India has, "which we don't have in our countries."
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