Indian film wins first prize at La Cinef student film festival

'Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know', directed by Chidananda S Naik from FTII Pune, has won the first prize at the 27th La Cinef student film festival. The film revolves around an elderly woman who steals a rooster, depriving a village of sunlight.

Naik shared his experience making the film based on Kannada folklore in just four days during his course at FTII. The jury, led by Lubna Azabal, jointly awarded the second prize to 'The Chaos She Left Behind' (Greece) and 'Out the Window Through the Wall' (US). 'Bunnyhood' (UK) secured the third prize.

This year's La Cinef featured 18 short films from 2,263 submissions worldwide, including entries from Israel and Palestine. The diverse lineup reflected the "geographic mobility of film students", according to organisers.

Mansi Maheshwari, director of 'Bunnyhood', expressed happiness at animation competing with live-action, stating "It's all film."