Serbian film fest honours Kurseong filmmaker's short Nepali film

Vivek Rai's celluloid take on feminism wins accolades for 'naturality'

Filmmaker Vivek Rai with the Silver Egg award.: The Telegraph

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, 02.02.24 : Shanti, a short Nepali film by Kurseong director Vivek Rai, has won the Silver Egg award for the second-best film at the prestigious Kustendorf International Film and Music Festival (KIFMF) held in Serbia in the last week of January.

KIFMF, an annual film festival founded by acclaimed Serbian film director Emir Kusturica in 2008, has in the past seen the presence of actors such as Johnny Depp, Monica Bellucci and Jim Jarmusch although this event is not much into parading Hollywood A-listers.

For the 2024 Kustendorf film festival competition, 536 directors from across the globe submitted their films out of which 17 films were short-listed for the finals.

The festival was held from January 23 to 27. The screening of Shanti, the only Indian entrant in the festival, took place on January 26.

“Call it a coincidence but it was nice to find our film being screened on our Republic Day,” Rai said.

The Golden Egg — the festival's main award — was won by a Russian film, Violet Country, directed by Mikhail Gorobchuk.

The Bronze Egg (second runner-up) award was won by a Croatian film, Short Cut Grass, directed by David Gaso.

About Shanti, the international jury presided over by famed Italian novelist Sandro Veronesi said “the naturality of the film was highly appreciable.”

The film was also praised highly by the jury for its storytelling and character-building.

Rai attended the festival at Drvengrad in western Serbia along with cinematographer Rajeev Runthala from Mumbai. “It was a dream come true,” said the filmmaker.

"We interacted with filmmakers from across the world and the experience we garnered during the festival was a big thing for us. We managed to exchange a lot of ideas. It was just amazing,” Rai added.

Rai, who had been into theatre since his school days at Himali Boarding School, Kurseong, moved to Nepal in 2009 to explore opportunities in an advertising firm after completing his post-graduation from Delhi University.

He also worked for a non-government organisation before he took to his calling in 2016 to become a filmmaker.

His film Shanti is based on Nepali writer Chimi Angmu Lama’s collection of short stories Ek Mukta Munal.

A chapter on feminism followed by a conversation with the author inspired Rai to make Shanti.

"My film tries to reevaluate established constructs that inextricably link brutality and savagery with masculine power and attributes such as gentle, kind and soft with feminism,” said the filmmaker.

"My friends Pem Tshering Yolmo, Amaan Rai, Siddharth Rai helped me in making Shanti. The film has been extensively shot in the idyllic village of Sitong in Kurseong itself,” Rai added.

Rai and his friends Karma Choejor and Kusang Lama run a production house, April Skies Films.

A year ago, Darjeeling filmmaker Saurav Rai won a jury award at the prestigious Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic for his Nepali feature film Guras (Rhododendron).