International
India-based British documentary wins second prize in Audience Awards at Berlinale
NEW DELHI: Salma, an India-based documentary by British filmmaker Kim Longinotto, has received the second place in Panorama Audience awards at Berlinale.
Salma chronicles the life of a woman from south India who was locked by her parents on reaching puberty and decided to fight her way back to the outside world twenty-five years later. She is now a well-known poet.
The Panorama Audience Award has been given since 1999. During the Berlinale, movie-goers were asked to rate the films shown in the Panorama section and over 28,000 votes were cast and counted altogether. This year the Panorama presented 52 productions from 33 countries, of which 20 were documentaries.
The 63rd Berlin International Film Festival will come to a close on February 16 with the presentation of the awards.
The first prize for documentaries went to The Act of Killing by Joshua Oppenheimer which is a Denmark/Norway/Great Britain collaboration. The third prize went to A World Not Ours by Mahdi Fleifel (Lebanon/Great Britain/Denmark).
In fiction, the prizes went to: The Broken Circle Breakdown by Felix van Groeningen (Belgium/Netherlands); Reaching for the Moon by Bruno Barreto (Brazil) and Inch‘Allah by Ana?s Barbeau-Lavalette (Canada/France).
International
Russia-India cinematic spectacle Persimmon of My Love set for grand Moscow debut
Hindi cinema style musical revives Indo-Soviet cinema ties for today
MUMBAI: A new chapter in cross-border storytelling is set to unfold as Persimmon of My Love gears up for its premiere in Moscow on 1 April 2026, marking the first large-scale cinematic collaboration between Russia and India in decades.
Positioned as a modern nod to the cultural exchange that once brought Indian classics to Soviet audiences, the film blends Hindi cinema flair with Russian storytelling, aiming to rekindle a long-standing cinematic friendship.
Directed by Marius Weisberg, the musical comedy follows two brothers navigating a lively world of music, family and romance. The lead roles are played by Demis Karibidis and Mikhail Galustyan, with Karibidis also contributing as a screenwriter.
Shot entirely in India, the production leans heavily into Hindi cinema style spectacle. Filming took place across Mumbai studios and the cities of Udaipur and Jodhpur, whose architecture was used to create the fictional setting of Khurmada. A crew of over 350 worked on the project, with large-scale sequences featuring up to 1,000 extras.
The film also brings Indian creative talent into the mix. Dance sequences are choreographed by Jay Kumar, while music by Zurab Matua features songs in both Hindi and Russian, adding to its cross-cultural appeal.
Backed by TNT channel, MyWayStudio and the Russian Cinema Fund, the project reflects a broader push to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries.
With its mix of colour, comedy and cross-border collaboration, Persimmon of My Love is not just a film release but a reminder that cinema, much like music, travels well across borders.
