The Marathi film "Puglya" has won the Best Foreign Language Feature award at Moscow International Film Festival 2021, continuing its immensely successful international stint. Director Vinod Sam Peter’s film about a pug and two boys have been winning accolades at foreign festivals.

Sharing his excitement, filmmaker Vinod Sam Peter said, “I feel immense joy when I see that the story is receiving such great response. Winning at Moscow International Film Festival is a great deal of pride for me and the team”. The filmmaker, who also wrote the screenplay, says the film is about a child's innocence.

“Puglya is a story that revolves around a pug and two boys, Rushab and Datta, who are around 10 years old. A pug dog comes into the life of two boys -- one from the city and the other from the village -- and its impact on their lives is shown in 'Pugalya'. The film shows the innocence and simplicity of the kids," he says.

Adding further Peter said, "When Dr. Sunil came up with the story for a short film, I thought that it was more apt as a feature. I am ambivalent towards dogs, but I realized that it has an international appeal... people are drawn to dogs and children. The film embodies and revolves completely around their world that is marked by affection and values."

The movie swept the topmost honors at the World Premiere Film Awards in California and some of the awards have been bagged by Ganesh Shelke for Best Actor, and Punam Chandorkar won Best Actress including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Music Score for Santhosh Chandran at Los Angeles’ World Premiere Film Awards. The film has also won Best Film, Best Director, and Best Cinematography awards at other International Film Festivals.

Puglya has traveled to various International Film competitions, including in London, Italy, Sweden, Australia, Philippines, Turkey, Iran, Argentina, Lebanon, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Spain, Philippines, Israel, USA, and Canada. It has also been produced by Vinod Sam Peter under the banner Abraham Films.

Peter and his team haven’t been able to release the film in India owing to the rise in COVID-19 cases. They are now waiting for the situation to get better to take a call on the theatrical release.

Source: Indian Express