Indian filmaker Nidhi Saxena wins Asian Cinema Fund 2024 award
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Entertainment: 'Sad Letters of an Imaginary Woman' won the prestigious Asian Cinema Fund 2024 award. The film is the directorial debut of filmmaker Nidhi Saxena and is going to be premiered at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in October 2024, The News Minute reported.
Nidhi became the first Indian woman filmmaker to be honoured with the award in the post-production category. She has a diploma in TV writing from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
TNM reports that the Asian Cinema Fund provides essential in-kind post-production services such as digital intermediate (DI), sound mixing, English subtitle spotting, and DCP creation for Asian and Korean feature-length fiction film projects.
The story of the 'Sad Letters of an Imaginary Woman' focuses on two women living in a decaying ancestral house, which apparently reflects their emotional stagnation. The movie features women struggling with trauma, and both find different ways to cope with it. At one point, they stumble upon something that might change their lives forever.
Talking about her film, Nidhi briefed us on what inspired her to come up with the subject. She said that during her childhood, she used to write letters to an imaginary friend detailing her fears and dreams, which she could not share with anyone else.
"These letters became a lifeline, a way to navigate the emotional turbulence of my upbringing," TNM quoted Nidhi. She said that she wanted to create a dreamlike atmosphere where memories and current realities coexist.
The Cannes winning award-winning Sri Lankan filmmaker Vimukthi Jayasundara and Indian producer Ajender Chawla produced the movie.
Jayasundara said that being part of the journey of Nidhi's movie, he has huge faith in her. He said that he is positive that what she created was pure cinema and was not just telling stories as a filmmaker. Nidhi is capturing the essence of life itself through her lens, Jayasundara said.
Jayasundara is known for his film 'Sulanga Enu Pinis'.