‘The Man Who Feels No Pain’ (Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota) wins TIFF’s Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award and Sandhya Suri’s ‘The Field’ gets IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Short Film
Vasan Bala was elated at TIFF’s closing Sunday morning awards gathering. He accepted the award and, referring to the trophy’s peculiar triangular shape, said that he felt like a ‘unicorn’!
‘The Man Who Feels No Pain’ received a glowing write-up in Variety, where critic Joe Leydon said, “Writer-director Vasan Bala’s wild and wacky yet also warm and fuzzy fable about a resourceful young man who transcends ostensible physical limitations to become a two-fisted, swift-kicking hero likely will prove to be an irresistible crowd-pleaser on the global fest circuit, and in international release on various platforms”. Words that would warm and delight the heart of any filmmaker. The People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award is not endowed with cash but the honour is a coveted one.
Sandhya Suri’s ‘The Field’ won the Short Cuts Award for Best Short Film. The Jury commented on the film as follows: “The film is striking for its aesthetic lyricism, tender performances, and powerful emotional impact. It's a unique and refreshing glimpse into female desire set in rural India that demonstrated a scope greater than its short format.” The award is endowed with a $10,000 cash prize, made possible by IWC Schaffhausen.
‘The Field’ follows a poor agricultural labourer, Lalla, as she leads a double life in the village's last remaining cornfield. But with the approaching harvest, she feels her deceptive ways may be exposed. The film presents a refreshingly layered portrait of a woman who bravely pursues a different kind of life than the one she has been granted.
The Complete TIFF 2018 Awards List:
THE GROLSCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
Winner: Peter Farrelly's Green Book
First runner-up: Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk
Second runner-up: Alfonso Cuarón’s ROMA
THE GROLSCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE MIDNIGHT MADNESS AWARD
Winner: Vasan Bala's The Man Who Feels No Pain (Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota)
First runner-up: David Gordon Green’s Halloween
Second runner-up: Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation
THE GROLSCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Winner: E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin's Free Solo
First runner-up: Tom Donahue’s This Changes Everything
Second runner-up: John Chester’s The Biggest Little Farm
THE PRIZE OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FILM CRITICS (FIPRESCI PRIZE)
Winner – Discovery Programme: Carmel Winters’ Float Like a Butterfly
Honourable Mention: Laura Luchetti’s Twin Flower
THE PRIZE OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FILM CRITICS (FIPRESCI PRIZE)
Winner – Special Presentations: Guy Nattiv’s Skin
Honourable Mention: Louis Garrel’s A Faithful Man
NETPAC AWARD
Winner: Ash Mayfair’s The Third Wife
Honourable Mention: Bai Xue’s The Crossing
EURIMAGES’ AUDENTIA AWARD
Winner: Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian's Fig Tree
Honourable Mention: Camilla Strøm Henriksen’s Phoenix
IWC SHORT CUTS AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM
Winner: Meryam Joobeur’s Brotherhood
Honourable Mention: Jérémy Comte’s Fauve
IWC SHORT CUTS AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM
Winner: Sandhya Suri’s The Field
Honourable Mentions: Anette Sidor’s Fuck You
Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels’s This Magnificent Cake!
CITY OF TORONTO AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FIRST FEATURE FILM
Winner: Katherine Jerkovic’s Roads in February (Les routes en février)
CANADA GOOSE® AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FILM
Winner: Sébastien Pilote’s The Fireflies Are Gone (La disparition des lucioles)
An edited version of this article originally appeared on the online daily newspaper thecitizen.in