A 16-minute short film Suryakanthi Hooge Modalu Gottagiddu (Sunflowers Were the First Ones To Know) based on a folklore from Karnataka has won the prestigious La Cinef award for the best short film at Festival De Cannes in France. The film was directed by a student at Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Chidananda S Naik, who hails from Karnataka. La Cinef consisted of 18 student films, chosen out of 2,263 entries from 555 film schools around the world.

The story of Sunflowers Were the First Ones To Know is set in a village where an elderly woman steals a rooster depriving the residents of sunlight. Speaking to Variety, Chidananda said, “We only had four days. I was told not to make this film. It’s based on folklore from Karnataka. I have been carrying this idea since my childhood as these are the stories we grew up with.”

Meanwhile, Indian-origin British filmmaker Mansi Maheshwari’s Bunnyhood won the third prize.

Earlier in 2020, Ashmita Guha Neogi’s Cat Dog became the first Indian short film to win the La Cinef award. Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia, whose latest film All We Imagine As Light is competing for the Palme D’Or in 2024, had competed for the La Cinef Award with her film Afternoon Clouds in 2017.