A Unique Film Festival

Monarose Pereira/Aaj ki Delhi

Culture Cinema 2021, a unique concept-based film festival that aims at celebrating world

cultures through the medium of cinema for international audiences, announced the Award

Winners of the Festival in July 2021. The film festival is currently online at

CultureCinema.MovieSaints.com, and the official selected films will be available till 16th

August 2021, in the virtual edition.

The winning films that shared the top prize of $1000 were, 'Kanda Bode' (Don’t Get Whipped),

directed by Cheryl Halpern and Fekad Kiros from Africa; and 'Sindhustan' directed by Sapna

Bhavnani from India. The announcement was made at the premiere edition of Culture Cinema

Film Festival (C2F2) this year. There was also a 'Jury Special Award' which was shared by two

films viz. 'I am a black sculptor' from the Netherlands, directed by Robin van Erven Dorens and

'Cumbia around the world', directed by Pablo Ignacio Coronel. Fifteen other films received 'Best

in Category' Awards for their remarkable cinematic representation in 14 categories of cultural

aspects. The festival is supported by UNESCO New Delhi Office, JLF Litfest and CIFEJ apart

from other festival partners.

The festival was the brainchild of Praveen Nagda, Festival Director of Culture Cinema 2021

(www.culturecinema.in) He speaks about what inspired him to start this unique festival, “We

organized this unique film festival, Culture Cinema 2021 with the aim to celebrate world cultures

via cinema. Every country has its own, unique culture and culture always binds people together.

Having a platform that allows film-makers an opportunity of storytelling about their diverse

cultural aspects to the world is wonderful. We want to explore the potential of culture to bring

prosperity, development, and peaceful co-existence using cinema as a medium. Cinema has

always been a great medium of expression, and this festival aims to become a preferred

platform to explore world cultures through cinema.”

Culture Cinema 2021 was graced by a great Jury mix of acclaimed filmmakers, directors,

writers, and cinema educators from across the globe. Jury members included well known

names like Archana Kelkar Deshmukh, Jitendra Mishra, Monarose Sheila Pereira, Ramesh

Tekwani, Ritesh Taksande, Vinod Ganatra, and Vedakumar Manikonda from India; and

Gabriele Brennen from France, and Theodora Malliarou from Greece.

Winners, Cheryl Halpern and Fekad Kiros, Directors, Kande Bode, believe that Culture

Cinema provides an important opportunity to promote knowledge and a greater appreciation for

the diverse customs and traditions of the worlds’ ethnicities. They said,WeI believe that it is

essential to share the stories represented by ethnic and cultural role models in order to

encourage understanding and respect for one another and to challenge intolerance and

prejudice. Thank you Culture Cinema for enabling this valuable communication.”

Another winner, Sapna Bhavnani, Director, Sindhustan, explained, “Because of the Sufi

influence Sindhis just left post partition. We didn’t fight. We didn’t ask for land. We just walked

away. Since our trauma was/is more on the psychological realm not too many films or series are

made about us. Sindhustan was the first film that penetrated the world and for the first time

people in First World Countries were googling our little community. We still have ways to go

before our story is relevant and I hope the young Sindhis keep on fighting for it. We don’t need

land or a state, just a DD channel would also help in keeping our culture alive. Thank you

Culture Cinema for curating our film and giving it relevance on a worldwide platform. Sindhis are

like magic. We are there but not there.”

Talking about the festival, Film maker, Gabriele Brennen, said, “What a nice idea to make a

festival about what should bring people together: their differences! Their culture, their traditions,

their art, whether music, theater, cinema, painting or sculpting, what a marvelous idea to be able

to travel from one country to another without having to move, not that it is not nice to move, but

alas it is not always possible, whether it is because of money, covid, work or family

circumstances. Knowing the other allows us to discover, to compare, to progress, to be aware

that our own traditions are precious. This Culture Festival gives us a unique opportunity to know

more about others and ourselves!”

Adding to the complimentss, Film maker and researcher of youth cinema, Theodora Malliarou,

noted, “As a new member of CIFEJ ( International Centre of Film for Children and Young

People) I am honoured to be part of Culture Cinema 2021. It has been a great pleasure

watching films about culture from all around the world, especially during this difficult year of

COVID-19 related restrictions. The great thing about our times is that technology gives us the

opportunity to connect and communicate beyond borders. I bring you wishes for a bright future

for everyone from Greece.”

Engineer, Urban and Regional Planner, Chairman, Deccan Heritage, Academy, Member CIFEJ,

Governing Council Member - INTACH, New Delhi, Member - ICOMOS, India, Vedkumar

Manikonda, congratulated Praveen and the organisers of Culture Cinema 2021, the

International Film Festival on the cultural aspect with a vision to encourage passionate

filmmakers, who are working towards unique subjects related to the cultural heritage of the

world. Vedkumar remarked, “This film festival helped me to visit various countries' cultural

richness and their customs and rituals and gave us an opportunity to experience parallels

between countries with similar and diversified cultures. The films were well selected for this

fest.”Engineer, Urban and Regional Planner, Chairman, Deccan Heritage, Academy, Member

CIFEJ, Governing Council Member - INTACH, New Delhi, Member - ICOMOS, India, Vedkumar

Manikonda, congratulated Praveen and the organisers of Culture Cinema 2021, the

International Film Festival on the cultural aspect with a vision to encourage passionate

filmmakers, who are working towards unique subjects related to the cultural heritage of the

world. Vedkumar remarked, “This film festival helped me to visit various countries' cultural

richness and their customs and rituals and gave us an opportunity to experience parallels

between countries with similar and diversified cultures. The films were well selected for this

fest.”

Writer-Filmmaker Ramesh Tekwani, observed, “Culture Cinema is less esoterica and more a

mind-widening intermingling of day-to-day happenings, dreams, nightmares, history and

traditions being repeated or created across the world; captured for posterity as an audio visual

cultural legacy for the world. Kudos to all the filmmakers and their very brave and far-sighted

producers who bank-rolled the films to make them happen. It’s time we gave them their due. To

Praveen Nagda goes the credit of presenting these films on a single platform - Culture Cinema

Film Festival, aka C2F2;.with UNESCO Delhi, JLF Litfest and CIFEJ coming on board as

partners his first step is all set for a giant leap.”

Jury member, Author and Guest Faculty for media studies, Monarose Sheila Pereira, who is

also known as India's Enid Blyton, said, "It was refreshing to see such well made films from

various cultures across the world. The films were educational and well researched. They

highlighted the need to focus on social and cultural aspects of life in different countries and

cultures to understand each other better and also to reform society and its biases. There is also

a common thread that seems to run through many cultures like history, beating up women, song

and dance, creative new ideas etc. The films were a delight to watch and difficult to judge

because they were well made and distinct in their own right. They proved that culture and films

have the tremendous potential to educate and bring reforms, peace, happiness and dignity to

all."

HOD - Films and Media School (GH Raisoni University, Amravati, Director, Editor, Filmmaker

(Course Director at FTII-SKIFT Program), Ritesh Taksande, found the Film festival very

unique. He explaind, “ We attend and judge a lot of festivals and see many different kinds of

films. Here the films were focused on culture, tradition, beliefs which were interesting to watch

and we enjoyed watching different cultures and traditions from around the world. Each film was

showcasing many aspects of various beliefs and traditional values and how the future

generation should follow, preserve, or even in few cases abandon the old culture which is

harmful to human life. I believe these kinds of films should not only be showcased in festivals

but should be brought to the public and every individual should watch them.”

The festival saw many intellectually stimulating talks by well-known authors, Bollywood

personalities, filmmakers, OOT professionals, and academicians who participated in the

discussions. The films have the potential to broadened our horizons as they present cultural

practices in different countries across the globe.