Assamese film Village Rockstars is India’s official entry to Oscars 2019

Assamese film Village Rockstars is India’s official entry for Oscars 2019 in the Best Foreign Language film category. The announcement was made by the Film Federation of India (FFI) on Saturday. The Rima Das film was also named Best Feature Film at the 65th National Film Awards.

An eminent jury constituted by FFI under the chairmanship of producer Rajendra Singh Babu chose Rima Das’ much-feted films from amongst other contenders like Raazi, Padmaavat, Hichki, October, Love Sonia, Gulabjaam, Mahanati, Pihu, Kadvi Hawa, Bhogda, Revaa, Bioscopewala, Manto, 102 Not out, Padman, Bhayanakam, Ajji, Nude and Gali Guliiyan.

“Village Rockstars is the closest film made by international standards [sic]. Very proud and to select this film and send it to the Oscars,” jury member Anant Mahadevan said in an interview to The Indian Express.

Watch the Village Rockstars trailer:

Village Rockstars is the story of a young girl who wants to be a guitarist. In a world where almost every step taken by females is questioned, 10-year-old Dhunu (Bhanita Das), who belongs to a remote village in Assam, wants to make a name for herself in the world of music.

The 91st Academy Awards is scheduled to be held on February 24, 2019.

Director Amit V Masurkar’s Newton was declared India’s official entry to the 2018 Oscars. However, the Rajkummar Rao, Anjali Patil and Pankaj Tripathi starrer didn’t make it to the final nominations. Newton was among 92 entries for the category, and only nine films have been shortlisted to move to the next round of voting by the Academy Award members. Newton offered a humorous take on India’s electoral system and how people in remote areas don’t get the benefit of the government’s policies. It was shot in the interiors of Chhatisgarh.

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First Published: Sep 22, 2018 12:06 IST