THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia will be honoured with the Spirit of Cinema award at the 29th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) on December 20. The festival, organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, will be held in Thiruvananthapuram from December 13 to 20. The award comprises a Rs 5 lakh cash prize, statue and citation.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will present the award to Kapadia at the valedictory of the festival at the Nishagandhi Auditorium. The award honours fearless cinema personalities who fight against injustice in society, the academy said in a statement.
The award was instituted from the 26th edition of the festival. The previous winners were Iranian filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi and Kenyan film director Wanuri Kahiu.
“Kapadia is the lone Indian filmmaker who won the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival for her directorial debut. A frontline leader in the agitation at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune (in 2015), she was among the 35 students arrested by the police during the 139-day-long strike at the institute. She was the 25th accused in the case. The institute had cancelled her scholarship following the strike”, the statement said.
Kapadia was born in Mumbai in 1986. She studied at St Xavier’s College and Sophia College for Women before joining FTII. Her film All We Imagine as Light will be screened at the film festival.