Actor Ifran Khan at TIFF. (Picture by Mahesh Abeyewardene)
Qissa’ won the NETPAC Award for World or International Asian Film Premiered at the 2013 Toronto International
Film Festival (TIFF). The award was announced at a brunch reception at the Toronto Intercontinental Centre. The Punjabi film directed by Anup Singh is set amidst the partition of India following independence in 1947.
Cameron Bailey artistic director of TIFF describes the film as a wonderful piece of art set inside a historically significant moment in South Asia.
“Beautiful, timeless, and touching the deepest of human impulses, Qissa carries the spirit of a great folk tale. Although it’s set in a particular time and place – the Punjab region that straddles India and Pakistan in the years immediately after partition – it is both deeper and broader than any one moment. As this eerie family drama progresses, it cuts to the heart
of eternal desires for honour, empathy, and love,” he writes.
He also pays tribute to the lead actor Irfran Khan, a naturally gifted artist, claimed as India’s best actor. Khan was also in Toronto festival for the film The Lunchbox.
