Dithee, Chumbak win big at the Pune International Film Festival 2019

The 17th Pune International Film Festival came to a close today, with the jury comprising Kamlesh Pandey, Prasanna Vithanage, Christer Holmgren, Daniela Ciancio and Shabnam Gholikhani announcing the awards in the Marathi and international competition categories.

Chumbak and Dithee came out on top in the Marathi section with three awards each.

Swanand Kirkire won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of a mentally challenged simpleton who falls victim to a scam by two juvenile delinquents in Chumbak (2018). The Best Film award also went to Chumbak, while its writers Sandeep Modi and Saurabh Bhave won the award for Best Screenplay.

Devika Daftardar won the Best Actress award for her powerful performance of an adoptive mother trying to  keep her family together in Naal (2018).

The Best Director award went to Sumitra Bhave for her poignant storytelling in Dithee. The film also bagged the Audience award for Best Film. Dhananjay Kulkarni won the Best Cinematography award for his work in the atmospheric film.

In the international category, the French-Kurdish film Girls Of The Sun (Les Filles Du Soleil), directed by Eva Husson, won the award for Best Film. Rodrigo Barriuso and Sebastian Barriuso bagged the award of Best Director for the Canadian-Cuban film A Translator.