Bhubaneswar: ‘Mercy of God’, a film by Amartya Bhattacharyya, has won six major awards at the 12th NoHu International Short Film Festival 2019 in New Jersey, USA.
AWARDS :
Best Film – “Mercy of God”
Best Director – Amartya Bhattacharyya “Mercy of God”
Best Original Score – Kisaloy Roy “Mercy of God”
Best Editing – Amartya Bhattacharyya “Mercy of God”
Best Cinematography – Amartya Bhattacharyya “Mercy of God”
Best Producer – Priyanka Ghosh Roy “Mercy of God”
The festival, which was held in the Union City screened 8 selected films from different parts of the world on October 11th. ‘Mercy of God’, a silent portrait of Odisha after the cyclone, was the only Indian film in the list.
The extremely severe cyclone, Fani, which hit Odisha on May 3rd has affected several lives and lifestyles in the remote rural villages of Odisha. The damage caused is huge, and many areas are still restoring normalcy. National award winning independent filmmaker Amartya Bhattacharyya, who is also a very passionate social worker, traveled to the remote interiors and witnessed the lives of several affected villagers. He captured the aftermath in his latest creation – “Mercy of God”, a film on and dedicated to the cyclone affected people of Odisha. The film has been released on Youtube and is garnering a lot of appreciations from different quarters.
Here is the link to watch the film – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqacIsZzNgs&list=PL29KGrRIehTU_qxMZyiOpdGEiIMgOLfaJ&index=2
The film, with no spoken words, start with the dedication – ‘To the undaunted spirit of Odisha’. Unlike most of Amartya’s works which have strong elements of fantasy, surrealism and philosophy, this film is a realistic mirror showcasing the terrible condition of cyclone-affected Odisha. Kisaloy Roy, who composes music for all of Amartya’s film, once again touches the heart with his intense notes.
Amartya’s statement – This is a very special. The film has won in all major categories. This is what I have always wished for – not to be recognized for one or two areas, but to be recognized in all departments of film-making. When a film works, it works as a synergy. I’m glad that our dedicated efforts in every department of film making has got a recognition. I also want to emphasize the fact that this film has been made with almost no budget, no crew on shoot, no plan, no script and no industry equipment. As for infrastructure, the film has used none. Yet it has won, and in technical categories like Cinematography, Music and Editing. It is yet another reassurance that infrastructure and technology is just an enabler, and not the deciding factor in art. I am particularly happy that Kisaloy Roy has won for his music. He is a tremendous talent that the world is yet to recognize. So is Priyanka Ghosh Roy. She has played the lead actress in my last feature film ‘Runanubandha’ (The HE without HIM), but she plays the role of a producer in this film. I was initially against making this film because I do not like to portray human suffering. She was the one who insisted that a documentation of such conditions is important for the future. I have therefore seen and shown the film, not as a suffering, but as a hallmark of strength and resilience. Even from the most devastated condition, I have tried to extract some hope. I hope the film gets more recognition in the days to come. It’s not me or my team, but the undaunted spirit of Odisha, which gets recognized through these honors
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