"Saving Face", "Byaari" win at SAARC Film Awards

"Saving Face", co-directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, won an Oscar earlier this year. The film chronicles the work of a British-Pakistani plastic surgeon who rebuilds the faces of women disfigured by acid attacks. Pakistani director Mehreen Jabbar's "Ramchand Pakistani" bagged the silver medal in the feature film category.

During the SAARC Film Awards ceremony held in Colombo last night, Pakistan bagged its first award for "Saving Face". The award for best actor was shared by Pakistani actors Manzar Sehbai and Rashid Farooqi for their roles in the feature films "Bol" and "Ramchand Pakistani", respectively.

The best feature film trophy was awarded to Sri Lanka's "Akasa Kusum" directed by Prasanna Vithanage. The film depicts the golden age of cinema as seen through the memories of an ageing actress.

 

The bronze medal in the feature film category went to India's "Byari" directed by K P Suveeran.

The runner-up award in the documentary category was bagged by Sri Lanka's "The Great School Teacher" directed by Mayri Wanaguru. The best actress award went to Sri Lanka's Malini Fonseka for her role in "Akasa Kusum" while Bangladesh's Morshedul Islam won the best director award for "Khelaghar".

The SAARC Film Festival attracted nominations from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Well-known film directors from Singapore, Iran and Russia were adjudicators for the film awards. The competition this year was held for two categories