Assamese film "Xhoihobote Dhemalite" ("Rainbow Fields") on Saturday bagged three top awards at the 3rd Love International Film Festival in Los Angeles including best movie.
Besides the best film, Dipannita Sharma won the award for best actress and Anurag Saikia for best music in the film .
More than 150 films from 36 countries were screened during the festival. The film, directed by Bidyut Kotoky, deals with the sensitive issue of children of Assam growing up in violent times and witnessing brutality around them.
Receiving the award, Kotoky said, "In 'Xhoihobote Dhemlite', we always believe that we are making a world cinema in Assamese language. Our emotions respect no geographical barriers – we don't need a language to laugh or to cry. Thank you Love International Film Festival for re-affirming our faith."
Earlier in the day, 'Xhoixobote Dhemalite' became the first Assamese film to be commercially released in the US, with four shows screened at the Cine Grand Cinema Fremont (California).
"I'm extremely delighted to receive such a wonderful award. Really overwhelmed I would like to thank jury members, director Bidyut Kotoky, sound designer Amrit Pritam Dutta, film mixing engineer Debajit Changmai, music mixing engineer Bhaskar Sarma and each and every member of the film 'Xoihobote Dhemalite'," said Saikia.
Dipannita Sharma expressing joy over her win said, "I'm just happy that I won my first best actress award for a film in my native language and on an international platform. It's celebration time for the whole team".
Based on true events, the film also features seasoned actors like Victor Banerjee, Nakul Vaid, Naved Aslam, Nipon Goswami and Nikumoni Barua.
The film is produced by a Mumbai-based production house and co-produced by Kotoky's Dhruv Creative Productions and US-based Kurmasana Kreates.
Kotoky said that while he was struggling for funds for the film's completion, Dubai-based philanthropist Jani Viswanath came on board as an executive producer and also pledged her earning from the film back to Assam via her NGO.
(With inputs from PTI)
