Busan [South Korea], October 5 : Tribeny Rai, a filmmaker from Sikkim, has won big for her debut feature, 'Shape of Momo' at the Busan International Film Festival.
The film received two big awards at the prestigious film festival, including the Taipei Film Commission Award and the Songwon Vision Award, the makers confirmed.
"We are over the moon to inform you that our Film Shape of Momo has won two awards @busanfilmfest. It has won the Taipei Film Commission Award and the Songwon Vision Award. We just want to take this opportunity to thank the entire cast and crew for bringing this story to life. Forever indebted for your contribution. Certainly awards add credibility, but with or without them we would still be the same bunch of filmmakers, searching and persevering," they wrote in an Instagram post.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DPGnYUdEu8Q/
'Shape of Momo' premiered at the Busan Film Festival in September this year. Speaking to Variety, Tribeny Rai opened up on how she decided to not romanticise the mountains. "People always want to romanticize places like ours, turn them into some beautiful backdrop for someone else's story. I've never liked that," she said.
The Nepali-language film follows the story of Bishnu, who comes back to her mountain village after quitting her job. However, she ends up facing family pressures and societal expectations, only for her tensions to rise after her pregnant sister's arrival and a budding relationship with a boy.
The story progresses to show Bishnu struggling between her tradition and independence.
Describing the film's story as a "quiet struggle", Rai told Variety, "We leave the places that shaped us in search of opportunity, freedom and a better life, only to find ourselves belonging nowhere. I am still caught in that in-between space, unable to decide whether to stay in my village or surrender to the city."
Directed by Tribeny Rai, 'Shape of Momo' is produced by Geeta Rai and Kislay and co-produced by Neha Malik, Himanshu Kohli, and Jung Woo Lee.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor