Cannes 2024: FTII students’ short film ‘Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know’ selected

'Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know', a short film by four students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), has been selected for La Cinef Competitive section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

The film, directed by Chidanand S Naik, has been selected from 2,263 entries across the globe and will compete with 17 other shorts for three La Cinef prizes, which will be awarded at a ceremony on May 23 in the Bunuel Theatre. The segment is dedicated to showcasing film school fiction or animated films. Three films from the US and two each from the UK and France are also part of the lineup.

'Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know' 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.

The Pune-based premiere film institute also shared the news on its official handle on social media platform X and congratulated its students for the feat. "Many congratulations to our talented students Mr Chidanand Naik (Direction), Suraj Thakur (Camera), Manoj V (Editing) and Abhishek Kadam (Sound), for this big achievement," FTII said.

The jury, which includes Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, Paolo Moretti, Claudine Nougaret, Vladimir Perisic and Belgian actress Lubna Azabal, will select the winners of the La Cinef prizes as well as the Short Film Palme d’or. The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will be held from May 14 to 25.

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