IFFI: 'Toxic' wins Golden Peacock; Vikrant Massey named Indian Film Personality of the Year

Panaji: The Lithuanian film Toxic, directed by Saulius Biliūnas, won the Golden Peacock Award at the International Film Festival of India, being held in Goa. The prize carries a cash award of ₹40 lakhs. Renowned filmmaker Phillip Noyce was honoured with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to global cinema, an accolade instituted by the Government of India. Bollywood actor Vikrant Massey received the Indian Film Personality of the Year Award.

Clement Fava was named Best Actor for his performance in the film Holy Cow. West Matulayite and Lev Rupkaitė were jointly awarded Best Actress for their roles in Toxic. Bogdan Murazanu won the Best Director award for his film The New Year That Never Came. The French film Holy Cow, directed by Louis Carvosier, received a Special Jury Mention.

The award for Best Debut Indian Director went to Navjot Bandivadekar for the film Garath Ganapathy. The ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Prize was awarded to Crossing, directed by Levan Akin. The web series Lampan was recognised as the Best Web Series. The award for the Best Film by a Debut Director went to Familiar Touch, directed by Sara Friedland.

Toxic revolves around the friendship between Marija and Kristina, two girls aspiring to become models. Thirteen-year-old Marija, abandoned by her mother, lives with her grandmother in an industrial town. She befriends Kristina, and their lives take a turn when they join a modelling school. The story delves into the dark side of the modelling world, taking the audience on an unexpected journey.

The closing ceremony, held at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Auditorium on Tuesday at 5.30 pm, was graced by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Vikrant Massey, Pratik Gandhi and Rashmika Mandanna. Although South Indian superstar Allu Arjun was announced as a guest for the event, he withdrew at the last minute. 

The festival concluded with the Slovakian film Dry Season, directed by Bohdan Sláma, as the closing film.