Once more we were confronted by some amazing debuts by South Asian filmmakers, which has become somewhat of a tradition at FSA.
Films short-listed for this award were:
Bare by Santana Issar. An honest narrative of coming to terms with an alcoholic father is told simply yet stunningly by juxtaposing home videos from the past with telephone conversations from the present creating a contradiction which throws the underlying emotions in sharp relief. A triumph of imagination over big budget projects.
Nar Narman by Mazhar Zaidi. A bittersweet joyride with a gay poet from Pakistan, the film turns many stereotypes on their head as one gets enamoured by the subject's disarming honesty and joy for life.
Parkash Travelling Cinema by Megha B. Lakhani, for identifying the simple subject of a travelling bioscope existing against all odds in a world of cheap digital technology. A human story of uncomplaining survival which leaves us with hope.
Again, the award had to be split between two films stylistically opposed but compelling in nature.
The winners for the Best Debut Film for FSA 07 are:
A labour of love about the Thami slate-miners in Nepal , a film peppered with cameos and minute details, opening up a world where co-operation is still the way of life. A Life with Slate by Dipesh Kharel
A contemporary retelling of the myth and reality of partition. A reclamation of the past by the present generation to move towards resolution and thus redemption. A film alive with raw cinematic energy, fractured narratives and instinctual editing.
Sara Singh's The Sky Below.
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