MUMBAI: An Ethiopian and an Indian film shared the top honours at the first international Culture Cinema Film Festival-2021 that concluded here on Wednesday, officials said.

The Ethiopian film, "Kanda Bode" (Don't Get Whipped) directed by Fekad Kiros, and India's "Sindhustan" directed by Sapna Bhavnani bagged the $1,000 top prize as Film of the Festival, said festival director Praveen Nagda.

The two films also bagged the top prize in the categories of Tribal Community and Diaspora Culture, respectively.

A film each from two continents shared the Jury Special Award - "I Am A Black Sculptor" (The Netherlands) directed by Robin van Erven Dorens and "Cumbia Around The World" (Argentina) directed by Pablo Ignacio Coronel.

Both these films also won the top slot in the categories of Art & Artisans and Music, respectively, as the virtual awards ceremony concluded here on Wednesday evening.

The festival -- supported by UNESCO New Delhi, JLF LitFest and CIFEJ -- commenced on July 17 and will continue online till August 16 for global audiences with all the officially selected films available for viewing by film buffs worldwide, said Nagda.

Another dozen films received prizes in various categories from around the world, including four Indian entries.

The Indian award-winning films are: "Are You Listening" (Education), directed by Mayur Puri, "Nawa-e-Sarosh - Mirza Ghalib" directed by Mir Hashmath Ali, and "Krish Trish and Baltiboy 08-Face Your Fear" directed by Tilakraj Shetty (both sharing Literature category), and "Garu" (Travel & Tourism) directed by Mithilesh Gunasekaran.

An entry from the US, "Birth Wars", a Spanish language film directed by Janet Jarman, New Zealand's "Furthest Frontier: Stories from Tamatea/Dusky Sound" directed by Will McKee, Italy's "The Walking Forest" directed by Maria G. Cavallo, France's "Our Remains" directed by Pierrick Chilloux, Iran's "Unsettled" directed by Mohamad S. Esmaeeli, and Indonesia's "Menari: An Indonesian Dance Legacy" directed by Cheryl Halpern & Natasha Dematra, were the other winners.

In the past three days, the festival witnessed talks, panel discussions, workshops, and other events with a total of 74 films from 21 countries screened of which 42 movies were in the competition section.

SOURCE : IANS