Lithuanian drama Toxic, the debut feature of Saule Bliuvaite, has picked up the Golden Peacock award for best film at the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI, November 20-28).
At the closing ceremony of the festival in Goa, the film also scooped the best actress award, shared between co-leads Vesta Matulyte and Ieva Rupeikaite.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Toxic follows two teenage girls from a bleak industrial town who join an extreme local modelling school. Featuring a cast of non-actors, it premiered at Locarno in August where it won the Golden Leopard for best film as well as the best first feature award.
The best director award went to Romania’s Bogdan Muresanu for tragicomedy The New Year That Never Came, just a week after it won best film at Cairo International Film Festival.
French coming-of-age drama Holy Cow took home a brace of prizes: the special jury award for director Louise Courvoisier and best actor for Clement Favreau. The film premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
Familiar Touch by US filmmaker Sarah Friedland was named best debut for a feature film director, having previously won best debut film, best director and best actress for Kathleen Chalfant at Venice where it played in Horizons. The story is about a woman’s transition to assisted living and the impact it has on her identity and desires.
A special mention for best male actor went to Tunisia’s Adam Bessa for his performance in Meryam Joobeur’s Who Do I Belong To. Bessa was named one of Screen’s Arab Stars of Tomorrow in 2022.
The ceremony, held at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Goa, also saw acclaimed Australian filmmaker Phillip Noyce presented with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award while Indian actor Vikrant Massey was named Personality of the Year.
The ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal, awarded to a film that embody the ideals of tolerance, intercultural dialogue, and peace, went to Levan Akin’s Crossing.
A new award this year was best debut director of Indian feature film, which went to Navjyot Bandivadekar for his Marathi-language film Gharat Ganpati.
The festival, organised by India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the National Film Development Corporation of India, screened more than 200 films from 75 countries and hosted masterclasses and panel discussions. Industry market Film Bazaar ran alongside IFFI from November 20-24.
55th IFFI winners
Golden Peacock (Best Film): Toxic
Best Director: Bogdan Muresanu, The New Year That Never Came
Best Debut for Feature Film Director: Sarah Friedland, Familiar Touch
Best Actress: Vesta Matulyte, Ieva Rupeikaite, Toxic
Best Actor: Clement Favreau, Holy Cow
Special Mention (Best Actor Male): Adam Bessa, Who Do I Belong To
Special Jury Award: Louise Courvoisier, Holy Cow
Best Web Series: Lampan
Personality of the Year: Vikrant Massey
Best Debut Director of Indian Feature Film: Navjyot Bandivadekar, Gharat Ganpati
ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal: Levan Akin, Crossing
Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award: Phillip Noyce
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