MICFF WINNERS 2020

List of Winners in Best Film Categories

FILM OF THE FESTIVAL AWARD

(BEST SHORT FILM OF THE FESTIVAL)

Mum's Hairpins

Tatiana Fedorovskaya (Russia)

Directed by Tatiana Fedorovskaya

Jewish shtetl, Ukraine, 1941. A box with mother’s hairpins – the only thing left from his family – is Yasha’s last chance to escape German invaders and rescue his new friend, a wounded goat kid.

Tatiana Fedorovskaya

Graduated from the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors, Moscow.

Short film "Mum's Hairpins":

MICFF INDIA 2020 : 'Film Of The Festival',Best Director,Best International Short','Best Cinematography,Best Actor In Lead Role,

Director Statement:
(Mum's Hairpins)

When I was a young child, my grandfather Yasha (Jacob Fedorovsky) recounted the fascinating story of his escape from Radomyshl, a small Jewish shtetl in Ukraine that was under German occupation in 1941. A small box containing his mother's hairpins, the only thing that remained from his family, helped him and his new friend – a wounded goat – to escape death.
I have wanted to tell this story to my audience ever since I began my career as a filmmaker.
The Second World War, and the atrocities associated to the Holocaust in particular, make for an extremely sensitive topic. Numerous films are made about it every year and, lets face it, some of them exploit these topics, as well as other acute social themes such as domestic violence, refugees, disability, to ensure their acceptance by festivals and cinema critics.
In my "Mum's Hairpins", I tried to avoid direct scenes of violence, brutality, and human suffering. The entire story is seen through the naive perception of my protagonist, a ten-year-old boy, Yasha, who, together with his friend is trying to survive this hopeless situation.
Everything that happened to them over those twenty-four hours is condensed into a short movie.
We endeavoured to create an authentic environment, within which the actors could perform. After a long search, we succeeded in finding a location that has remained unchanged since the 1940s: The small village of Kudrichi in South-Western Belarus, near the Ukrainien border. Much like Radomshyl, all the Jewish inhabitants of Kudrichi were exterminated during the summer of 1941, and just a few abandoned wooden houses remained. Our artists spent a week creating props using local materials, as well as artefacts, that were lent to us by the Russian Museum of Jewish History. An old recording of the Yiddish lullaby "Schlof sche mean vogele" (Sleep Well My Little Bird) was used as the principal musical theme. Rather than use a professional composer, as I had initially intended, I decided to use fragments of Mahler's and Rachmaninov's symphonies. Surprisingly, casting was the easiest part of pre-production. I posted an announcement on my Facebook page asking for a 10-year old red haired boy to play the lead role and within half an hour I received a video by the perfect candidate, whom I approved as my leader character. Coincidentally, he too, is named Yasha.

BEST INDIAN SHORT (WINNERS)

MICFF GOLD

Iddah (Kerala)
Shammas Jamsheer

Film Synopsis:
Imagine a grieving woman who has no choice but to remain virtually confined within the walls of a closed room for months, barred from meeting people who should consoled her and brought her out of grief and sense of loneliness. The movie portrays such a hapless woman, Qamarunnisah. Hailing from a traditional Muslim family, she finds herself within the confines of the room for a period of over four months - ‘Iddah’ (waiting period ) - after her husband's demise. She is disconnected from the outside world for four months and ten days.

MICFF SILVER

Poet In Two Worlds (Pune)
Swapnil Vasant Lata Kapure

Film Synopsis:
Rajendra Shekate - Raja - is an unemployed rural young with M.A. B.Ed. who fells to secure a job. His passion for writing poetry adds to the fury of his father who expects Raja to at least work in their own soya bean farm. Raja's mother is always entangled in the fights between father and son, while Raja is muddled between his love for poetry and inevitable farming.
The village, its traditional order of living, people, their varying emotions and their struggle for existence are the sources of inspiration for Raja's words. Raja witnesses them all empathetically. He pens it differently. Once, Raja gets an invitation for a lit-fest in City and a whole new world is unleashed to him. A world where he would only dream to be. It is a platform where Raja expects his poetry to be appreciated. But at this very hour, village is going through few unexpected incidences which make the whole surroundings hostile, especially to the farmers. Such unpredictable background has always pulled Raja back from stepping ahead. This time Raja prefers to chase his dreams abandoning his rural and agrarian burdens. But this choice ensnarls him into a bitter reality of both these worlds.

SPECIAL JURY MENTION

Duggi (Kolkata)
Sagnik Chatterjee

Film Synopsis:
Uma, a 28-year-old corporate employee lives with her husband somewhere near Bagmari bazar (Kolkata). Having a huge professional pressure with several overtimes, night shifts and office tours, she couldn't manage to meet her father since last 1.5 years, even though her father also lives in the same city. Finally, Uma plans to meet her father on the last day of Durga Puja (Bengali festival). But on that day, suddenly her father disappears. Uma spends a whole day in her father's place eagerly waiting for him to come back safe and thus, she discovers some unknown facts about her father's life which leave her shocked.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Baitullah (Mumbai)
Jitendra Rai

Millions of children are engaged in child labour in India, in an increasingly growing number every year. And with that, millions of childhood dreams are never realised as a result of a lack of education. Baitullah is the story of one such child, with a dream, surviving in the maddening metropolis of Mumbai, waiting for someone to notice.

SPECIAL MENTION

Paath (Mumbai)
Karan Singh Rathore

the film is a story about a girl who becomes a victim of Bride trafficking that has been taking place in certain parts in India

HONORABLE MENTION

Love Ishtory (Mumbai)
Veenit Katariia

Film Synopsis:
Love Ishtory is dramatical take on the casteism issue fructifying in our country. It’s a story of a young couple facing opposition on their affair. Chavi is from a brahmin family while Aakash belongs to a backward caste.
Chhavi’s father, Bhaskar Shukla, is an influential personality. His daughter’s desire to marry a lower caste boy has shaken him up. Bhaskar ordered the local inspector Dubey Ji to catch Aakash to rough him up.
It is a story of that day on which all this unfolds. Keeping the adrenaline high, the film progresses to reach a point where Chhavi’s elder brother Vicky is ready to blow Aakash’s head off.
Will this classic tale of casteism end in another honour killing?
Will the society again be a mute spectator to a horrific incident?

BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT (WINNERS)

WINNER MICFF GOLD

Mum's Hairpins (Russia)

Directed by Tatiana Fedorovskaya

Jewish shtetl, Ukraine, 1941. A box with mother’s hairpins – the only thing left from his family – is Yasha’s last chance to escape German invaders and rescue his new friend, a wounded goat kid.

MICFF SILVER

L'oro Di Famiglia (Italy)

Directed by Emanuele Pisano

Film Synopsis:
A young petty thief and a male robbery. Among the stolen Goods, an object captures his attention: not gold, not silver and not ancient memorabilia, but something much more precious than the worth returning.

SPECIAL JURY MENTION

The Request (Mexico)

Directed by Rubí Salles

Film Synopsis:
Luis is nine years old and lives the constant absence of his mother. Mrs. Acela has an unusual job, helps 'to die', but her son does not know exactly what his job is and all the time he is worried. About to turn years Luis makes a request that will mark his life.