Nandita Das To Serve on Competition Jury of 30th Busan International Film Festival
The festival, one of the biggest in Asia, will take place from September 17-26.
Indian actor-director Nandita Das will serve on the jury of the newly-minted competition section of the 30th Busan International Film Festival. The seven-member jury is headed by South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin.
Das, a major figure of the Indian film industry, is known for her iconic roles in movies like Fire, Earth and Kannathil Muthamittal, among others. She made her directorial debut with 2008’s Firaaq, a drama set in the aftermath of the Gujarat riots. In 2018, Das directed the biopic Manto starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and followed it up with Kapil Sharma-starrer Zwigato, a social drama exploring the lives of gig-workers in modern India. The film had its Asian premiere at Busan in 2022.
The 30th Busan International Film Festival will take place from September 17-26 in Busan, South Korea. The film’s inaugural competitive section features 14 entries from Korea, Japan, China, Iran, Tajikistan, Taiwan and Sri Lanka.
Das has, in the past, served on the jury of the Cannes Film Festival twice. She was conferred the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier) by the French Government in 2011.
“Excited to be back in Busan, one of my favourite film festivals in the world and the best in all of Asia. But this time l am not going as an actor, director or an awardee. I am on the jury!” Das wrote on Instagram.
“In the midst of many stresses of work and life, I know this experience will be a burst of creative stimulus, it'll be nourishing. Can't wait to watch good films in a pin drop dark hall and have the most exciting jury deliberations after. I look forward to the films, the people, the food, the conversations with other filmmakers and filmlovers...and meeting wonderful friends yet again from all over the world," she added.
For the 30th edition of Busan, Nila Madhab Panda's (I Am Kalam, Kadvi Hawa) production Spying Stars has been selected in the competition section at Busan, making it the only India-produced feature to be chosen. The film is directed by Sri Lankan filmmaker Vimukthi Jayasundara.
Furthermore, names like Alia Bhatt and Payal Kapadia are attached as producers on Indian titles in the Asian Project Market (APM), the co-production market at the festival.