Kannada movie ‘Shivamma’ bags major awards at Busan Film Festival

Kannada movie “Shivamma” and actor-director Aamir Bashir’s “The Winter Within” have won trophies at the 2022 Busan International Film Festival.

“Shivamma”, directed by first-time filmmaker Jaishankar Aryar, won the New Currents Award along with the Korean title “A Wild Roomer”.

Bashir’s “The Winter Within” was adjudged the winner of KB New Currents Audience Award during the festival’s closing ceremony on Friday.

“Shivamma” chronicles the story of a poor, middle-aged woman sales representative for an energy drink company. It features Sharanamma Chetti and Chennamma Abbegere, and is produced by “Kantara” star-filmmaker Rishab Shetty.

According to festival organisers, the New Currents Award is given to the two best feature films selected from the first or second feature of new Asian directors introduced in the New Currents section of the festival. It carries a grand prize of USD 30,000 for each film.

“We appreciated the originality and intensity with which the director was able to tell this very contemporary story. Here documentary and fiction meet in an organic and spirited way of making cinema.

“The generosity of the actors and the scenes create a closeness with this universal story that takes place in an Indian village,” the jury, which included world-renowned film experts, said in a note shared on the festival website.

Aryar, who hails from Bengaluru, celebrated his debut film’s win in a post on Instagram.