Our Bureau
New Delhi
“Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know”, a short film by 4 students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), has been selected for La Cinef Competitive section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. This is the first time a film by a student from a first-year Television course has been selected at the prestigious film festival.
This FTII film is a production of the TV Wing one-year programme where four students from different disciplines – direction, electronic cinematography, editing, and sound – worked together for one project as a year-end coordinated exercise. The film was shot by Suraj Thakur and edited by Manoj V, while its sound design was made by Abhishek Kadam.
“Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know” has cinematography by Suraj Thakur, editing by Manoj V and sound by Abhishek Kadam. It presents the story of an elderly woman who steals the village’s rooster that throws the community into disarray. To bring the rooster back, a prophecy is invoked, sending the old lady’s family into exile, according to the official plotline.
Other entries for the La Cinef section include films from Lebanon, China, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Palestine, Czech Republic, South Korea, Australia, Israel, US, UK and France. The jury for the awards includes Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, Paolo Moretti, Claudine Nougaret, Vladimir Perisic and Belgian actress Lubna Azabal. The Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 14 to 25.
