Imphal: Haobam Paban Kumar’s third feature film –Joseph’s Son received the Special Jury Award in the competition of Indian Language’s Films of the eight-day 29th Kolkata International Film Festival 2023 which was closed today. Fifteen films competed in the festival.
Three-member jury headed by the German Film Critic and film director Rudiger Suchland with Tunisian Film Actress and Director Maniam Al Ferjani and Moroccan film Actress Amal Ayouch selected Rajni Basumatary’s Gorai Phakhri for the Best Film award, Shonet Anthony Barretto’s Ani Ki Kismat for the Best Director award and Haobam Paban Kumar’s Joseph’s Son for the Special Jury award.
Haobam Paban Kumar who is currently attending in the International Film Festival of Kerala 2023 at Thiruvananthapuram for his film- Joseph’s Son said that he was very happy to receive the first award for his film- Joseph’s Son in a major International Film Festival.
His feature film tells the story of a young teen who has not returned home to Manipur, an area amidst ethnic conflicts and insurgency. His father Joseph sets out on a journey in search of his football enthusiast son. As Joseph travels, his fear grows deeper, a fear of constant uncertainty- past and present -to which a personal vacuum is added when he is asked to verify the unidentified body in the morgue by the police. It is a journey that no parent would like to take ever.
Haobam Paban Kumar is a prominent voice emitting out of the restive north eastern state of Manipur, India dabbling in both non-fiction and fiction storytelling. His film AFSPA 1958 was awarded the Golden Lotus for Best Documentary at the 56th National Film Awards 2008. A Cry in the Dark is another film screened at the 31st Toronto Film Festival 2006 and MOMA New York 2007. After nearly a decade of documentary filmmaking, he made his critically acclaimed feature film Loktak Lairembee (Lady of the Lake) which featured at 67th Berlin Film Festival 2017 and 21st Busan International Film Festival 2016.
