Prakash Kamat

PANAJI: A Spanish film “Monday to Friday” by Albert Bayona won the Vasudha award in the environmental section of the international competition for short films held for the first time as part of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

A three-member jury led by Aribam Syam Sharma selected the 15.30-minute film, which is about environment change and human’s thoughtless and short-sighted interference in landscape and destruction of nature.

In the general category of the short film competition, which included feature and non feature films, a five-member jury led by filmmaker Janhu Barua selected a Belgian film Plot Point by Nicolas Provost for the coveted Gold Lamp Tree and Rs.5 lakh award.

The 15-minute film questions the boundaries between reality and fiction by merely suggesting cinematic narrative codes namely, tension, climax and plot, but eventually leaves the mystery unravelled.

The Silver Lamp Tree award along with Rs.3 lakh was bagged by Indian film Good Night , a 29-minute film directed by Geetika Narang .

The special Jury award went to a French film L’Ecrivain(The Writer), a 18.08 minute film by Gabriele Brennen.

Room for improvement
Jury chairman Janhu Barua said the jury’s opinion was that the films for the competition were “good” in terms of quality but things could be vastly improved in terms of quality and quantity.

He hoped that the idea of promoting short films through a short film centre like the one held by the IFFI organizers would go a long way in changing the reality that the short film producers get a step-motherly treatment in general and in India in particular.

The awards were presented by Goa Speaker Pratapsingh Rane, Director Film Festivals S. M. Khan and Goa Chief Secretary J. P. Singh at a function organised by the Goa Entertainment Society(ESG) at the IFFI venue on Monday evening.