FTII student's film 'Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know' selected for 'La Cinef' section at Cannes

The film is among 18 shorts out of which 14 are live-action and 4 are animated films. (Image: @FTIIOfficial/X)

A film by FTII’s student has been selected in the ‘La Cinef’ Competitive section of the 77th Cannes Film Festival. “Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know”, directed by Chidanand Naik is the only Indian film selected in the ‘La Cinef’ section of Cannes.

The film is among 18 shorts out of which 14 are live-action and 4 are animated films selected from the 2,263 entries submitted by film schools from all over the world. The announcement was made by the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. 'La Cinef' is the official section of the prestigious festival specifically for presenting and promoting films from film schools across the world to encourage new talent.

The Jury will hand over 'La Cinef' prizes at a ceremony preceding the screening of the awarded films on May 23 in the Bunuel Theatre. This is the first time a student's film from the Television course has been selected at Cannes since the beginning of the one-year certificate course in television at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.

"Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know" is a story of an elderly woman who steals the village's rooster, which throws the community into disarray. To bring the rooster back, a prophecy is invoked, sending the old lady's family into exile.

The film is the result of work done by four students for their year-end coordinated exercise. The movie is directed by Chidanand Naik, shot by Suraj Thakur, edited by Manoj V and sound is by Abhishek Kadam.

Meanwhile, FTII came in the limelight after alumna Payal Kapadia’s debut feature film, "All We Imagine as Light," was announced as a contender at the Cannes Film Festival.

The festival organisers announced that Kapadia's film would compete in the festival's coveted competition section in a tweet. With this feat, Kapadia has become the first Indian filmmaker in over 30 years since 1994 to feature in the main competition at the world-renowned festival.