SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa’s young filmmaker Barkha Naik has made her State proud by winning the prestigious national award – Silver Conch – the Best Short Fiction Film award for her Konkani short film ‘Salt’, at the 18th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) on Friday, which according to her is a recognition for Konkani cinema as well as the short films genre.
She received the award at the award ceremony of the seven-day prestigious international film festival organised by the Government of India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in Mumbai.
Kiran Shantaram, an Indian veteran filmmaker, presented the award. Barkha and Heramb Kirtany, a young producer from Goa, received the award at a spectacular award ceremony.
“I am very happy to receive this award. This film is already available, so I could not send it to a lot of festivals. But MIFF is one of the big film festivals, which accepted it and also awarded us. This film was made with a lot of love and heart. So, I am happy to have won the award for everyone who participated in the making of this film,” Barkha told O Heraldo.
She added that it was a moment of pride for the whole team, which had toiled hard to make this film a success.
When asked about the message this recognition conveys for the less heralded short films category, she said, “I am very aware that the market for short films is rather small. So, even when we are making a short film, people are always pushing for a full length feature film, so that it is sold better. Hence, in this backdrop, the recognition certainly is a big encouragement for short film makers.”
Barkha added that short films are a medium in itself. So, this kind of recognition holds a lot of value for this medium of film making.
“This is also a big recognition for Goan and Konkani cinema. Hopefully, there will be more producers willing to put their money in Konkani film projects that are rooted in Goa. Now I am writing my feature film, and hopefully I will be able to produce it soon and this award will help me in making this film,” she said.
Barkha’s award winning Konkani short film ‘Salt’ is a father-son drama that delves deep into redefining a relationship that has been marked by deafening silence for years.
This film was among Netflix’s Top Ten at a nationwide competition last year, in which 1500 young filmmakers had participated.
Barkha, daughter of Prashant Naik and Ratnamala Diukar, graduated from the Prague Film and Television Institute in Czechoslovakia. Earlier, she interned with India’s ace documentary maker, Anand Patwardhan, and worked as Vishwal Bhardwaj’s Director’s Assistant.
She has been a child prodigy when it comes to performing arts. She won the National
Bal Shree Honour at the age of 7 at the hands of then President of India, late Dr A P J Abdul Kalam for acting. This is awarded by the Government of India to creative children in the age group of 9–16 years.
