Village Rockstars Nominated For Oscars, Leaves Raazi behind
The national award-winning film, Village Rockstars has been nominated as the official entry of India for the best foreign language film of the 2019 Oscars. The announcement was made the Film Federation of India on the Saturday morning of 22nd September 2018.
The movie beat 27 other contenders including, Hichki, Piku, Padman, Raazi, and Love Sonia, said Rajendra Singh Babu, Chairman of the film federation of India.
Written, directed and produced National Award-winning filmmaker Rima Das, Village Rockstars tells the story of a 10-year old girl Dhunu (Bhanita Das) from a remote village in Assam, dreams of owning a guitar and forming a band despite the abysmal financial condition of her family. The movie also deals with women empowerment and gender inequality.
Village Rockstars has been to around 70 other film festivals winning many accolades. At the 65th National Film Awards this year, the 87 -minute drama also won four awards- the Best Feature, Best Editing, Best Location Sound Recordist, and Best Child Artist. Village Rockstars was world premiered at Toronto International Film Festival last year.
No film has ever won in the foreign film category at the Oscars with only three films making it to the final nominations list- Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957), Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan (2001).
Village Rockstars has been shot in Das’s native village of Chhaygaon and most of the cast members and non- actors from the village, including her niece Bhanita Das who plays Dhunnu. “This is a great day. For an independent filmmaker like myself to get this recognition is huge and a big confidence boost,” Das said over the phone from her home in Assam.
“I am glad that I am with my family and cast of the film. Otherwise, a news like this, if you are alone in some far-off land could put you off-balance”, she added. She also urged the government of India and Assam to help her with the promotions of the film because she is not backed up any studio and she is a solo producer since the next step for the Academy Awards would be the Promotion Campaigns.
The movie Village Rockstars has been set for a pan-India release on 28th September 2018.
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