The film was the only Indian representation at the 73rd Cannes festival, which could not be held on its scheduled dates in May this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo: Twiteer/FTII)CatDog, a 20-minute final-year diploma project from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), has won the first prize at Cinefondation Selection, the students’ competition category at Festival De Cannes. The award was received by the film’s director Ashmita Guha Neogi at a ceremony in France on Wednesday.
The film was the only Indian representation at the 73rd Cannes festival, which could not be held on its scheduled dates in May this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, a three-day limited outdoor event was held by the organisers in Cannes where four official selection films, short films selected for the competition and Cinefondation students competition films were screened and winners were honoured.
Cinefondation Selection, in which CatDog was adjudged the top film, comprises 17 students’ films from various film schools selected from 1,952 entries received from 444 film schools.
CatDog is the story of two young siblings who inhabit a fanciful world of their making, hidden from the eyes of their mother. When she finally catches a glimpse of their world, the mother decides to send the boy away to a hostel.
The film is the work of 2013-batch students Prateek Pamecha (cinematography), Neeraj Singh (production design), Vinita Negi (editing) and Kushal Nerurkar (sound design), along with Neogi.
The award consists of a cash prize of 15,000 Euros, along with a citation. The winning films will be screened in Paris on October 31.