'Jaggi', 'Seven Winters in Tehran' and 'Yellow' win the audience awards at 2024 CIFF, Chandigarh

A still from Anmol Sidhu's hair-raising debut 'Jaggi' (2021), which won the audience award at the just-concluded first international film festival of Chandigarh, CIFF aka Cinévesture International Film Festival.

In the wilderness of Punjab's green fields lives a boy named Jaggi, played hauntingly by Ramnish Chaudhary, in the eponymous film directed by debutant Anmol Sidhu. The movie addresses issues like discrimination, sexual abuse, and mental health. Presented at the ‘India Unveiled’ section of the Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF), Chandigarh, the 117-minute film was honoured as the Walkers People’s Choice Award for the Best Indian Film. It also features Harmandeep Singh, Gaurav Kumar, Shivam Kamboj and Aks Mehra in pivotal roles. In a recent interview, Anmol admitted to having watched Anurag Kashyap’s videos, wherein the latter filmmaker had said "anyone can make films with the help of a phone, a film can be made from the left out reels." The film has been shot in Anmol's village, Kauloke in Bathinda, Punjab.

The first edition of CIFF, Chandigarh's first ever international film festival, ended on a high note. After screening 25 award-winning international features in the World Cinema section, 16 indie gems in the India Unveiled, 30 shorts in Brief Encounters, a curated section of children’s films and timeless Classics, the first edition of Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF) concluded on Sunday. CIFF was held from March 27-31, 2024, showcasing a diverse selection of films.

Like Anmol Sidhu, the CIFF festival seem to have taken Kashyap's diktat seriously and produced a three-day phone filmmaking workshop, hosted by Chitkara International School, that saw students from five schools participating. Ritisha Sinha's film "Unveiled" from Mount Carmel School received an award among the showcased films. The films were shot at the Government Museum & Arts, Sector 10, Chandigarh.

The festival concluded with a finale panel with Karan Johar, the producer and director from Dharma Productions, who spoke extensively about his previous and upcoming work. There is a 'Student of the Year' series in the making, to be directed by Reema Maya. Johar also spoke to Divya Sharma, a president awardee, disability activist, corporate writer, RJ, and a Blue Belt in karate, about the inclusivity of marginalised sections of society, such as visually impaired people.

A still from Elham Ehsas' BAFTA-nominated short film 'Yellow' (2023), on women in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, that won an audience award at CIFF 2024, Chandigarh.

The short film Yellow spotlights women in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and the devastating loss of women's liberties there. The film opens to show a woman walking into a Chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full-body veil, the burqa, and face an uncertain future. ‘Yellow’ directed by Elham Ehsas won the Westside People’s Choice Award for Best Short Film at CIFF. Yellow (2023) was nominated for BAFTA Best British Short Film.

Nina Lath, founder & CEO of Cinevesture says, “We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible support and trust this pilot edition of CIFF has received from the film community, the response and acceptance of the beautiful people of Chandigarh, and the faith entrusted in us by our partners and collaborators. Without all of these,  it would have been impossible for us to pull off this event in a short span of ten weeks. We thank them all and look forward to building these relationships further over the years ahead.”

A still from Steffi Niederzoll's evocative documentary 'Seven Winters in Tehran' (2023), which won an audience award at CIFF 2024, Chandigarh.

Seven Winters in Tehran directed by Steffi Niederzoll took home the Cinevesture People's Choice Award for Best International Film. In 2007 Tehran, Iran, 19-year-old Reyhaneh Jabbari stabs an alleged rapist and is arrested for murder. Sentenced to death, Reyhaneh becomes a symbol of women's rights after her execution. This film, in which Holy Spider actor Zar Amir Ebrahimi lends Reyhaneh her voice, makes visible the injustice in Iranian society and portrays an involuntary heroine who gave her life in the fight for women’s rights.

CIFF presented 20 projects under CIFF Market Projects on the festival's sidelines, including three web-series. Three debut projects were selected for the Mentorship Program at the CIFF Market.

Artistic Director Bina Paul says, “The film market at CIFF is emerging as a platform for producers and filmmakers across the country to network, build skills and do business. The film festival offers to the people of Chandigarh an opportunity to see the best films from across the world. This synergy creates a new culture and business.”

The festival hosted 20 masterclasses and panel discussions. Esteemed film personalities such as Jaideep Ahlawat, Tahira Kashyap, Richa Chadha, Ali Fazal, Roshan Mathew, Abhay Deol, Sudhir Mishra, Suvinder Vicky from "Kohrra", Boman Irani, Rasika Dugal, Rajshri Deshpande, Randeep Jha, director & writer of "Tabbar" Ajitpal Singh, director of "Kesri" Anurag Singh, Shekhar Kapur of "Mr. India" fame, and the director of the Academy Award-winning film "Elizabeth" graced the festival with their presence, sharing valuable insights and perspectives.