Jury Citations

First prize:
The 18th Elephant--3 Monologues
An outstanding and original film, enabling the viewer to believe the elephants themselves are speaking. There is a strong narrative, told with brilliant use of film language.

Second Prize:
Shei Rater Kotha Bolte Eshechi
(Tale of the Darkest Night)
The most dramatic film of the festival. A chilling reminder of a hideous narrative which should never be forgotten.

Third Prize:
Sand and Water
A film which evokes the courage and cheerfulness of a poor community living under extreme adversity. The interviews and the situations filmed succeed in the difficult task of bringing out the character and personality of people whose circumstances are far removed from those of the filmmaker.

Grand Jury Prize:
Buru Sengal (The Fire Within)
There were many excellent films concerned with development issues. The Fire Within was conventional documentary filming at its best. The narrative was very strong and dealt with several different issues without talking down to the audience.

Special Mention Prize:
Bheda Ko Oon Jasto (In Search of a Song)
The slogan of the festival is ‘Documentaries can be Fun’ and this certainly is a fun film. The audience feels they are on the trek too.

We, the jury, have had great fun viewing and discussing the films in the festival and we would like to congratulate all those who have entered their work. We have learnt a great deal and are sure the films will instruct and entertain audiences wherever they are shown.

We would, however, like to make a few points. Many films are about important issues, but some often rely too much on talking heads and so lacked visual impact. There are some films which need a stronger and more consistent narrative to ensure that the viewer does not get lost.

Producers also need to give real thought to the length of the films they make. It needs a very strong documentary to hold an audience for an hour or more. Some of the longer films, we felt, would have run better at half their length. But we appreciate all the care, effort and expense that has gone into these films and so we hope these remarks will not discourage any producer.