cannes Winner ‘President’s cake’ to Compete โfor Gandhi Medal atโข IFFI Goa
Panaji,Goa – โฃMohsen Makhmalbaf’s Cannes-winningโ film,”President’s Cake,” is among the international contenders vying โคfor the prestigious gandhi Medal โat theโข 54th International Film โFestival of India โ(IFFI) in Goa. The proclamation positions the Iranian political satire alongside a diverse slate of films exploring themes ofโค identity, conflict, and social justice.
“President’s cake,” which received aโ standing ovation โคat Cannes, depicts aโฃ retiredโ government employee and hisโข wife who attempt to deliverโข a cake to โthe president as a form ofโ protest.โ The film’s inclusion atโ IFFI underscores a growing trend of politically and socially engaged cinema gaining internationalโ recognition.
Other films in contention for the Gandhiโ Medal include Nadia Falls’ “Brides,” a โBritish-Muslim coming-of-age drama nominated for a World Cinema Dramatic Grandโ Jury Prize at โSundance; eirik Svensson’s “Safe House,” winner of the Audience Dragon Awardโ at the Gรถteborg Film Festival for its depiction of Doctors Withoutโข Borders during the Central Africanโ Republic civil war; and Ujkan Hysaj’s debut,”Hana,”โ which premieres at IFFI and explores โขart therapy with war โsurvivors in Kosovo.
The selection alsoโ features Iranian actor Ebrahim โAmini’s directorial debut, “K Poper,” following a teenage girl’s K-pop obsession; Japanese auteur Kawaseโค Naomi’s “Yakushima’s โฃIllusion,” starringโฃ Vicky Krieps and nominated for โaโ Golden Leopardโฃ at Locarno; and threeโ Indian โfilms: Anupam Kher’s “Tanvi the Grate,” about a woman with autism fulfilling her father’s dream; Praveen Morchhale’s Urdu-language โฃdrama “White snow,” facing censorship challenges; andโข Jitank Singh Gurjar’sโข Toronto Netpacโค Award winner, “Vimukt” (“In Searchโ of The Sky”), chronicling a โขpilgrimage withโฃ a son with intellectual disabilities.
The jury, chaired by Ahmed Bedjaoui, artistic director of the Internationalโ Film festival of algiers, will also include Xueyan Hun, vice-presidentโ of ICFT and director of the Platform for Creativity and Innovation;โค Serge โคMichel, vice president of UNICA; Tobias Biancone, former director-general โofโค the International Theatre Institute; and Georges Dupont, director-general of ICFT andโ former senior โฃinternational โขcivilโ servantโค at โUNESCO. โ
The Gandhi Medal is awarded to a film promoting non-violence and โideals for which Mahatma Gandhi stood. IFFI Goa runsโ from November 20-28,2023.