Awards
Indian film wins award at Intercom Fest
MUMBAI: The Indian film, Breaking Barriers, actually ‘broke barriers’ at The International Communications (Intercom) Film and Video Festival, Chicago. It was the only Indian film to have won an award in a competition filled with hundreds of entries from across the world.
Produced by Wide Angle Films and directed by Sujata Kulshreshtha, Breaking Barriers will be screened at the 39th Chicago International Film Festival in October this year.
Kulshreshtha, a graduate of the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, has completed a five-and-a-half-year course in visual communication and has been producing documentaries, corporate videos and commercials for over 15 years.
This is the second international award she has received, the first being for a tourism film, at the Karlovy Vary Festival in Czekoslovakia.
Breaking Barriers has been directed in a remote district of Musabani in the state of Jharkhand. It is the story of seven illiterate tribal girls who were trained to be hand-pump mechanics.
In 1999, a survey had revealed that a large number of hand-pumps in the region were nonfunctional; and as a result, women needed to walk long distances to fetch drinking water. As a result, young girls missed school because of this inconvenience.
Since the situation directly affected the lives of women, a pilot project was initiated for training a group of women in mechanics. This was sponsored by Unicef, Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the government of Jharkhand.
Later on, it was found that the women far exceeded the expectations and completely outshone the men who were also being trained alongside.
Breaking Barriers was made to document the success of the project – the women’s journey from being powerless over their circumstances, to being ’empowered’ and ‘in control’, breaking the gender barrier. It defied the beliefs of the villagers that girls can’t acquire technical or mechanical skills.s
Breaking Barriers is a motivational, inspirational documentation and serves to catalyse greater community involvement in finding solutions to common problems.
Awards
Ajay Kakar to chair jury for ad:tech Honours Awards 2026
Industry leaders join jury as nominations surge for marketing tech awards
NEW DELHI: The ad:tech Honours Awards 2026 are gearing up for a bigger second edition, with Ajay Kakar, head of corporate branding at Adani Group, set to chair the jury for India’s technology-focused marketing awards.
Organised in partnership with the International Advertising Association India Chapter, the awards celebrate the growing influence of technology in shaping modern advertising and marketing outcomes. This year’s edition has drawn a strong response from across the industry, signalling rising momentum around innovation in marketing technology.
The organisers say the nominations reflect a wide range of ideas and approaches, highlighting how brands and agencies are increasingly leaning on platforms, tools and data to sharpen their campaigns and connect with audiences more effectively.
Leading the evaluation process, Kakar will head a jury made up of senior leaders from across brands, agencies and technology platforms.
The jury panel includes Amaresh Godbole, CEO, digital technology business at Publicis Groupe; Bishwajeet S, head of marketing and PR at Volkswagen India; Carol Goyal, executive director at Rediffusion and CEO of Aesthetic Intelligence Lab; Kushal Sanghvi, director at Komerz; Lara Balsara, executive director at Madison World; Rana Barua, group CEO India, sea and North Asia; Deepak Oram, senior vice president growth marketing and martech; and Priyanka Khaneja Gandhi, head of marketing and creative solutions at Amazon Ads India.
The ad:tech Honours Awards aim to recognise not just creative campaigns but the smart use of technology that delivers measurable impact and business results. Categories this year reflect the rapidly evolving digital landscape, covering areas such as artificial intelligence, data-driven marketing, content ecosystems, automation, martech and adtech integration, and commerce-led marketing.
The winners will be announced on 17 March 2026 at the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre in New Delhi during ad:tech New Delhi 2026. The event is expected to bring together leaders from brands, agencies, platforms, creators and technology partners for an evening celebrating the ideas and innovations shaping the future of marketing.iconductor industries.
