At MIFF 2014, which concluded yesterday, Animation Film Maker Gitanjali Rao’s True Love Story bagged the Golden Conch Best A
nimation Film Award and Dhvani Desai’s Chakravyuh (Vicious Circle) won the Most Popular Film Award category which was introduced for the very first time at MIFF 2014, in which the winner is selected on the basis of voting by delegates at the fest.
True Love Story, a 2D animated film in which each frame is painted, is a tale of love between two young people Salim and Kamala, who sell flowers on the streets of Bombay. MIFF 2014 was the very first festival, where this 19 minute film was screened.
AnimationXpress.com asks Gitanjali about how she feels after this win, she says, “Elated! And special because this was where I won my first prize for my earlier short film Printed rainbow also! I think it was an honest sincere film with no compromise on quality and a story that perhaps has a far off reach, not restricted to children and entertainment alone.”
4 minute animated short on (Right to Information Act) RTI, Chakravyuh (Vicious Circle), produced by Films Division, that is composed with legal experiences that Dhvani had faced is also created using 2D animation & paper textured characters.
The short was animated at Dhvani’s Metamorphosis studio, and spotlights on how the Right to Information Act (RTI) can be used as a powerful tool to fight corruption.
Animation Film Maker Dhvani also shares her happiness on the win with us by saying,
“I am very happy that my film”Chakravyuh” (The Vicious Circle) has won the Most Popular Film Award at the MIFF from all the films which included the International and National Competition and MIFF Prism films. This film was meant for the common man and I am very pleased that I could touch their hearts. It was a big challenge for me to make a film on a legal act and promote it through the art of animation.Animation films have always remained in the background over the years in India and so winning the Most Popular Film Award for an animated film is surely something very great”
So with this win, Gitanjali aims at taking the short to more festivals, travel some interesting places with it, meet filmmakers, and find avenues for her next whereas Dhvani’s focus is also on International screenings for her short.