The Venice Film Festival presented its prestigious Federation Internationale de la Presse Cinematographique (FIPRESCI) award to Indian filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane’s feature film ‘The Disciple’.

The Marathi film is the first Indian entry in almost 20 years, after Mira Nair’s 2001 film ‘Monsoon Wedding’, to be to be chosen for the main competition in a European film festival — Cannes, Venice or Berlin. It was receiving positive reviews from critics after premiering last week in Venice. 

“I want to thank the FIPRESCI and its jury members from the bottom of my heart for their continued support for our work. This is a very special honour for us given that the jury for this award comprises of film critics and journalists from around the world,” Tamhane said.

“We are all quite thrilled and excited with this fantastic start to the journey of ‘The Disciple’,” Tamhane said in a statement, as quoted by PTI.

‘The Disciple’, a 127-minute-long feature, stars Aditya Modak, Arun Dravid, Sumitra Bhave, and Kiran Yadnyopavit. It has been produced by “Sir” actor Vivek Gomber through his Zoo Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

The 77th Venice Film Festival is set to conclude on Saturday, with the presentation of the Golden Lion award.