F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b

If you are regular reader of the blog, you probably know his name. Neeraj Ghaywan is part of the editorial team and is a regular contributor to the blog. So it’s a great news for all of us. Yay! Yay! Yay!

Sundance Institute and Mahindra today announced the winners of the 2014 Sundance Institute | Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award, in recognition and support of emerging independent filmmakers from around the world. The winning directors and projects are Hong Khaou, MONSOON from Vietnam/UK; Tobias Lindholm, A WAR from Denmark; Ashlee Page, ARCHIVE from Australia; and Neeraj Ghaywan, FLY AWAY SOLO from India.

– Each of the four winning filmmakers will receive a cash award of $10,000, attendance at the Sundance Film Festival for targeted industry and creative meetings, year-round mentoring from Institute staff and creative advisors, eligibility to participate in a Sundance Institute Lab, and ongoing creative and strategic support from Sundance Institute’s renowned Feature Film Program.

More details about the winners and their films –

Hong Khaou / MONSOON (Vietnam/UK): Two young men visit present day Vietnam, and are confronted with the war’s ramifications nearly forty years after its end.

Hong Khaou’s debut feature film Lilting premiered in World Cinema Competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.  The film stars Ben Whishaw and Cheng Pei Pei. He is also the director of three short films, including Spring, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and Summer, which premiered at the 2006 Berlinale. This year, Hong was named one of the Stars of Tomorrow by Screen International.

Tobias Lindholm / A WAR (Denmark):  The major of a Danish unit in Afghanistan faces the consequences of his actions in the aftermath of his most dangerous mission..

Tobias Lindholm graduated as a screenwriter from the National Film School of Denmark in 2007, and has collaborated with Thomas Vinterberg as co-writer on Submarino and Oscar nominee The Hunt. In 2010 he wrote and directed his first feature film in collaboration with Michael Noer, and in 2012 he wrote and directed the critical acclaimed A hijacking.

Ashlee Page / ARCHIVE (Australia): With the help of a supercomputer, an isolated 16-year-old girl grows plant life on Saturn’s moon Titan in the hope of one day restoring Earth’s ecosystems. But when an unexpected accident leads her to the moon’s surface, she discovers evidence that her mission is a lie and that her life is in danger.

Ashlee Page is an Australian writer and director. Her multi-award winning short The Kiss screened at Busan, Clermont-Ferrand, Palm Springs and Tribeca film festivals. Her most recent work is on the film compendium The Turning, adapted from the novel by Tim Winton. Archive is her first feature film.

Neeraj Ghaywan / FLY AWAY SOLO (India): Four lives intersect along the Ganges river: a lower-caste boy in a hopeless love, a daughter torn with guilt, a father sinking in greed, and a spirited kid craving a family, all yearning to escape the constrictions of a small-town.

Neeraj Ghaywan worked with Anurag Kashyap on the veteran director’s two-part opus Gangs of Wasseypur and as the second unit director on Ugly.  His short films as writer-director include Shor and The Epiphany. Shor won the grand jury prize at three International film festivals.

– The script of Fly Away Solo is been written by Varun Grover.

– You can watch Neeraj’s short films Shor and Epiphany here and here. And click here to read a post by him on the making of Shor.

– Also, Love.Love.Love, a short documentary directed by FTII student Sandhya Daisy Sundaram, won the Short Film Special Jury award for non-fiction at the ongoing Sundance Film Festival. More details here.