Hindi
‘Mukti Bhawan’ wins UNESCO award at Venice International Filmfest
NEW DELHI: Mukti Bhawan (called as Hotel Salvation) has bagged the UNESCO XXIIIrd Prix “Enrico Fulchignoni” at the Venice International Film Festival.
The jury said: The award to the film by Shubhashish Bhutiani was being given “for the values finely expressed on the importance of family, time spent together in respect and with love, and those values of human rights which we all share. The maturity and depth of emotions and cinematic vocabulary used to display these belie the young age of the director, and we look forward to seeing many more of his films in the future.”
The film – which received a 10-minute ovation after its screening at the festival — is a part of the Biennale College-Cinema program at the Venice Film Festival which gives support since 2012 to the young filmmakers to bring their vision to the big screen and, in this case, the effort has borne marvelous fruit.”
CICT-Unesco Jury comprised Jasmina Boijc (founder and director UNAFF, Stanford University), Pierpaolo Saporito (President of OCCAM, the UN Observatory on Cultural Communication and v.president of CICT-UNESCO, Gabriel Griffin-Hall (Author and Poet), and Eliana Bantchev (CICT-UNESCO General Secretary Delegate).
In the past, the Prix Enrico Fulchignoni was awarded to, among others: ‘Beasts of No Nation’ by Cary Fukunaga, ‘Miral’ by Julian Schnabel, ‘Land of Plenty’ by Wim Wenders, ‘Tsion, Auto-emancipatie’ by Amos Gitaï or ‘Porto da minha infancia’ by Manoel de Oliveira.
Three years ago, Shubhashish Bhutiani’s short film Kush had won the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film.
The audience in Venice this time was carried away by this universal story of love, redemption and mourning.
When Daya, a 77 year old man, wakes up from a strange nightmare, he knows his time is up and he must get to Varanasi immediately in the hope of dying there to attain salvation. His dutiful son, Rajiv, is left with no other choice but to drop everything and make the journey with his stubborn father, leaving behind his wife and daughter.
The two of them check into Mukti Bhawan/Hotel Salvation, a hotel devoted to people hoping to spend their last days there. Rajiv finds himself having to live and take care of his father for the first time in his life.
The festival which began on 31 August concluded today (10 September 2016) and this film was scheduled for three public and delegate screenings on 2 and 3 September apart from one web streaming.
The 103-minute film stars Adil Hussain (Life of Pi), Lalit Behl, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Palomi Ghosh, Navnindra Behl and Anil K Rastogi.
Also read:
Huge ovation for Hindi film Mukti Bhawan after world premiere at Venice
New Hindi film to have world premiere at Venice International Film Festival
Hindi
MIFF 2026 to return to Mumbai; film entries open till April 12
19th edition to host WAVES Doc Bazaar, spotlighting global documentary talent
MUMBAI: The 19th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival 2026 is set to take place from June 15 to 21 at the NFDC Complex, with film submissions currently open and the deadline fast approaching on April 12.
Organised by the National Film Development Corporation under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the biennial festival remains one of South Asia’s most prominent platforms for documentary, short fiction and animation films.
Filmmakers, producers and content creators from across the globe have been invited to submit entries via the Film Freeway platform for the Competition Section. Offline submissions will not be accepted, reinforcing a fully digital entry process.
MIFF 2026 continues to sweeten the deal with a robust awards pool of Rs 55 lakh. The coveted Golden Conch for Best Documentary carries a top prize of Rs 10 lakh, alongside multiple awards across categories, making it one of the most lucrative non-feature film festivals in the region.
A key highlight this year will be the second edition of the WAVES Doc Bazaar, scheduled from June 16 to 18 alongside the festival. Designed as a hub for collaboration, the Doc Bazaar will feature a co-production market, viewing rooms and a work-in-progress lab, bringing together global buyers, sellers and creators under one roof.
Since its inception in 1990, MIFF has built a reputation as a serious showcase for non-feature cinema, drawing participation from filmmakers worldwide. The previous edition saw over 350 films from more than 30 countries, underlining its growing international footprint.
With submissions closing soon and preparations underway, MIFF 2026 is shaping up to be a vibrant meeting point for storytelling, collaboration and cinematic craft, offering filmmakers both a stage and a springboard.
