FTII’s Kannada short film Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know qualifies for Oscars 2025
Bengaluru: The Kannada short film Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know, directed by Chidananda S. Naik, has officially qualified for the 2025 Academy Awards, announced the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday. The film has earned a spot in the Live Action Short Film category.
The film was produced by the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). Earlier this year, Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know won the first prize at the Cannes Film Festival’s La Cinef Selection, a platform for emerging filmmakers. The La Cinef Jury at Cannes lauded the film for its exceptional storytelling and direction, with the jury describing it as "an illumination that, from the depths of the night, shines with humour and a keen sense of direction."
Film director Naik stated, “I have aspired to tell this story for as long as I can remember. Our goal was to recreate the experience of not merely hearing these stories but of genuinely living them–an experience I hope resonates with audiences around the globe.”
The 15-minute film is based on Kannada folk tale about an old woman who steals the village rooster, leading to a cessation of sunlight and resulting in turmoil within the community. In an effort to restore order, a prophecy is invoked, resulting in the exile of the woman’s family as they undertake a desperate mission to retrieve the rooster.
The film’s team includes Suraj Thakur as the cinematographer, Manoj V. as the editor and Abhishek Kadam for sound design.
The 97th Academy Awards will take place in March 2025.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
ALSO READ: Why remove Mahatma Gandhi's name, asks Priyanka on move to replace MGNREGA
The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
