The 2022 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) announced the award winners for its 20th annual edition with Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s Once Upon a Time in Calcutta winning the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Film, and Anmol Sidhu’s Jaggi receiving the inaugural Uma da Cunha Award for Best Feature Film Debut, as well as the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature.
IFFLA Executive Director Christina Marouda, said, “This year’s edition of the film festival was wonderful in so many ways. The excitement felt by the reunion of so many of our filmmakers, patrons, and film fans back in the theaters was something we all shared. The months and weeks leading to the festival, we weren’t sure whether people will show after a three-year break from an in- person festival. We were overwhelmed to see everyone coming back, eager to reconnect with the community and the IFFLA family, watch films and celebrate our 20th anniversary. We walk away from this year’s festival energized and filled gratitude.”
In the feature film category, Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s Once Upon a Time in Calcutta was cited for “its sprawling, operatic depiction of broken people desperate to connect and its poetic mastery of cinematic craft” by the IFFLA jury. An honorable mention went to Shankar’s Fairies, Irfana Majumdar’s restrained and lyrical portrait of the unconditional bond between a young girl and the gentleman who cares for her family.
It was fitting during this 20th anniversary edition of the film festival for a new award to be presented in honor of IFFLA’s beloved advisor in India, the legendary Uma da Cunha. Uma has been a founding member of IFFLA, always championing Indian independent cinema and emerging voices. Regarding her selection of Sidhu’s Jaggi which follows a schoolboy in rural Punjab who faces toxic masculinity and sexual abuse when he’s assumed to be gay, da Cunha, said, “Few independent films in India are made in the Punjabi language and fewer still find their way into festivals to reach a wider audience. This film needs to be seen in a milieu where sexual matters tend not to be addressed openly.”
In the Short Film Category, the Grand Jury Prize went to Amrita Bagchi’s Succulent. The jury stated that the film “beautifully taps into our deep longing for genuine connection in a world that is increasingly artificial.” The Grand Jury Prize for Best Short in the inaugural Spotlight on South Asia section went to Salar Pashtoonyar’s Bad Omen (Afghanistan/Canada). The jury remarked that it was “a raw and visceral film that showed us that above all else, honest filmmaking always wins.”
Honorable mentions in the Short Film category went to Megha Ramaswamy’s Lalanna’s Song, with the jury stating that the film impressed themwith its daring, boundary pushing filmmaking and two extraordinary lead performances, and Akanksha Cruczynski’s Close Ties to Home Country. The jury said the film “starts out absurd and hilarious, but sucker punched us with the truth when we least expected it.”
2022 IFFLA AWARD-WINNING FILMS AND FILMMAKERS
UMA DA CUNHA AWARD (for Best Debut Feature).
Jaggi
Director: Anmol Sidhu
Grand Jury Prize Awards
BEST FEATURE FILM
Once Upon a Time in Calcutta
Director: Aditya Vikram Sengupta
HONORABLE MENTION
Shankar’s Fairies
Director: Irfana Majumdar
BEST SHORT FILM
Succulent
Director: Amrita Bagchi
HONORABLE MENTION
Lalanna’s Song
Director: Megha Ramaswamy
HONORABLE MENTION
Close Ties to Home Country
Director: Akanksha Cruczynski
BEST SHORT FILM – Spotlight on South Asia
Bad Omen
Director: Salar Pashtoonyar
Audience Choice Awards
FEATURE FILM
Jaggi
Director: Anmol Sidhu
SHORT FILM
7 Star Dinosor Entertainment
Director: Vaishali Naik