Bosco festival awards film on girl child

The films were to motivate, inspire and motivate youngsters for social change.

Mumbai:  Swapnil Rajashekar’s ‘Saavat’ bagged the award for the Best film at the Don Bosco Youth Film Festival (DBYFFI) 2017 of India. The award was given by Rector Major of the Salesians, Father Angel Fernandez Artime, on March 4 in Chennai.

DBYFFI, organised by the Salesian Provincial Conference of South Asia together with Don Bosco Communications, South Asia, presented budding filmmakers with a unique attempt to showcase the aspirations of the youth, the challenges and the struggles they go through and their issues and concerns through these short films.

Networking in 100 venues spread over 19 states, the idea was to reach out simultaneously to lakhs of young people.

The Festival received 248 short films from 24 states across India, of which the Preliminary Jury committee selected 24 short films for screening. The Final Jury Panel selected the Best 3 films, and also chose 10 short films under various categories.

Father Harris Pakkam, Director of the Film Festival, said the event was a huge success and it reached out to nearly 5 lakh youth from across the country. “The films were to motivate, inspire and motivate youngsters for social change,” he said.

The theme of the film festival was the celebration of the spirit of youth in a positive and inspiring way, narrating stories of young people who face challenges and struggles in life with courage, determination and faith to emerge as inspiring individuals.

‘Saavat’ - a 24 minute long production, speaks about the vulnerability of the girl child in rural India. Portraying the uphill task that a girl child faces even today to be literate, it also touches on the impact of events like rape on the psyche of victims.

‘Paywat’, directed by Mithunchandra Choudhari won the runners-up award. Like ‘Saavat’, this film too focuses on the plight of the girl child. It revolves around the protagonist ‘Mayidi’, the daughter of a landless labourer who focuses on education despite severe financial hardships.

‘Backbone’ a film by Karunakaran C finished in third place. The 21-minute long plot revolves around an aged farmer who was forced to sell his land to clear his debt. Poverty forces him to move to a larger town in search of a job where he encounters several hardships.

Ramachandra Gaonkar’s ‘Selfie’ won the award for the best story. The plot revolves around daily incidents faced by common man and reveals the perceptions of others based on our appearance and clothes.

Source: Don Bosco India