NEW DELHI: Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court, which has been on a winning streak for the past few months, has now won the FIPRESCI (The International Federation of Film Critics) Prize at the Vienna International Film Festival (Viennale).
 

In the citation, the jury said: “This film is a quietly sophisticated, emotionally restrained yet hugely affecting account of the politics, incompetence and casual corruption of the Indian justice system, which has a universal resonance. While focused on legal procedure, glimpses into the everyday lives of the protagonists add depth and surprising humour to the iniquities within the court.”

This is director and writer Chaitanya Tamhane's first film.

 
Court recently won the Golden Gateway award for Best Film, Best Director and Jury Special Mention for Ensemble Cast at the 16th Mumbai Film Festival. Besides, it also won the Turkish Film Critics’ Association (SIYAD) award for the Best Film at 51st International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.

 
A folk singer who sings about social ills is charged with abetting the alleged suicide of a BMC worker and thrown into judicial custody. What follows is an acidic satire that shows the absurdity of the Indian legal system and society's callousness with elegant savagery. Court manages to talk about everything from the need for judicial reform to freedom of expression without ever turning preachy or becoming self-indulgent. The cast is made up of theatre actors and non-actors who comfortably slip between Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and English.