Lipstick Under My Burkha, produced by Prakash Jha and directed by Alankrita Shrivastava won the Audience award for the Best Feature Film at the 10th CinemAsia Amsterdam Film festival that concluded on March 12. Cambodian film Diamond Island won the Jury Award.
Festival director Lorna Tee while introducing Lipstick Under My Burkha to Amsterdam audiences had said, "At Cinemasia… we try to bring together the different narratives that are coming out from Asia. Lipstick Under My Burkha is currently being banned by the Indian film censors. We find this unfortunate, and we strongly oppose this. We believe that films are voices. And voices should not be censored."
"CinemAsia Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film, Lipstick Under My Burkha by Alankrita Shrivastava is one our most beloved films with one of the highest rated films ever by our audience. It is a testament to the relevance and resonance of the film powerful subject matter and characters that break barriers beyond borders," Lorna Tee, Festival Director
The audiences at the festival cast their votes for the film they loved most. And 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' emerged as the winner.
"A film about the lives of four ordinary Indian women is winning the hearts of people across the world. This is our fourth international award! I believe Lipstick Under My Burkha is an important story, and people across India should be allowed to watch the film," says Prakash Jha, producer.
"Thankyou CinemAsia for coming out so strongly in support of Lipstick Under My Burkha. At a time when we are battling for the film to be allowed to be watched in India, the Audience Award means everything. It means that the people of Amsterdam have connected with the film at a heart-to-heart level.
It is an affirmation of the fact that the voices of women cannot be silenced. And so for me the victory of Lipstick Under My Burkha is the resounding victory for the voices of all the women of Asia regardless of country, race, religion or culture. Lipstick Under My Burkha has won, means the brave women of Asia have won," says Alankrita Shrivastava, Director, Lipstick Under My Burkha
'Lipstick Under My Burkha' won the prestigious Glasgow Film Festival Audience Award for the Best Feature Film, the Spirit of Asia Prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival, the Oxfam Award for the Best Film on Gender Equality at the Mumbai Film Festival.
The film featuring Konkona Sen Sharma and Ratna Pathak Shah among others has also been in the official selection at the Stockholm Film Festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, the Miami International Film Festival.
It is currently being screened at the Films de Femmes festival in Paris and the London Asian Film Festival. It is slated to open the International Film Festival in Los Angeles, and is also competing for the Best Female Director Award at the Cleveland International Film Festival.