FRUIT of labour

All I Want, an Indian film directed by Venika Mitra, has won at Beyond Borders Diversity of Cannes Short Film Showcase - an event independent of the ongoing 70th Cannes Film Festival here.

“I am very surprised to know that out of the entire bunch of wonderful films, my film was declared the winner. I was shocked and checked my award on stage twice before accepting it,” Mitra says. “Personally, I feel there were much better films than my film. I was rooting for those films. It’s a great feeling to be a winner and to have your work liked by so many people. I hope that I live up to these expectations in my next project as well. I’m deeply grateful to all my crowd-funders of the film,” she added

Tough fight

Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty, who has worked on the film’s sound, tweeted: “Venika Mitra’s short film All I Want wins two awards at Cannes. In Diversity of Cannes Short Film showcase, first Indian film to receive this honour.” The festival saw 231 entries from 30 countries across six continents participating.

Love for mangoes

The story of All I Want talks about an unwavering pursuit of a street urchin Ratan to buy one mango. Asked about what urged her to make this film, Mitra said: “My motivation for this story is my love for mangoes.” “One day I gave some money to my bai (maid) in Mumbai to buy something for her daughters. She asked me if I could buy her mangoes instead of giving her that money. I was surprised. Mangoes I thought were in abundance in Mumbai and very cheap. She said mangoes might be cheap for me, but not for her. That inspired me.” 

—IANS