MUMBAI: Debutant filmmaker Laxmikant Shetgaonkar added one more feather to India‘ cap when his NFDC sponsored Konkani film Paltadacho Munis (The Man Beyond the Bridge) won the international federation of film critics (FIPRESCI) award in the Discovery Section of the just concluded Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

The film had been selected by the festival for the Discovery Section that comprised over 30 films from around the world, that were works by new and emerging filmmakers.

The film is a story about the life of Vinayak, a lonely widowed forest guard, who one night comes across a filthy, unkempt and ill woman outside his house. He initially attempts to drive her away, but she keeps returning and a relationship slowly develops between the two. But Vinayak is ridiculed and ostracized by local villagers, who believe that his relationship with the woman is morally incorrect. The crux of the film is the struggle of Vinayak to give the woman a fair chance to rebuild her life in the orthodox community.

Said National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) chairman Om Puri, "The Toronto International Film Festival is a major global platform for all kinds of cinema from around the world and this is an honor for India and for the first-time filmmaker. We hope to see more NFDC films making a mark and winning international awards for artistic excellence."

NFDC has so far produced films in 18 Indian languages.