Centred on the true story of Porfirio Ramirez Aldana, a man paralysed from waist down who made headlines in 2005 for trying to hijack a plane to Bogota, ‘Porfirio’, a blend of fiction and reality, was the unanimous choice for its “celebration of the human spirit,” said IFFI jury chairman Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
“This is the most important award I’ve ever received, and is truly a vote of confidence,” a beaming Landes said at Saturday’s closing ceremony.
Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi didn’t disappoint either, picking the Silver Peacock for best director for ‘Nader and Simin – A Separation’. The film had created a buzz at the festival after its success at the Berlin film fest. Russian Nadezdha Markina won the best actress award for her role in ‘Elena’, while Sasson Gabay took the best actor for the engaging Israeli film ‘Restoration’.
Kerala-based director Salim Ahmad’s Malayalam film ‘Abu, Son of Adam’ won the special jury award.
Suriya bats for regional movies
Tamil film star Suriya, making a debut appearance at the IFFI, said it wasn’t fair that regional cinema was hardly in the spotlight. They get national awards, but hardly any exposure, he said.
“The impression that goes out to the West is that Indian cinema is Bollywood and nothing else,” he said. He said he would like to see “greater recognition and more visibility” for films from the south.