`Jalpari` wins award at Cannes

New Delhi: Nila Madhab Panda`s "Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid" has won the MIP Junior Kids Jury Awards 2012, at Cannes. It is the first Hindi film to win this honour.

MIP Junior Kids Jury award, an international showcase for children and youth programmes and films, was divided into three categories -- Tweens (11-14 years), Kids (7-10 years) and Pre-school (3-6 years) -- which included both live action and animation in every category, read a statement. A jury of 15 from the International School of Nice judged their favourite film during a private screening session, and the winning choice for the Tweens category was "Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid". "Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid", based on the issue of female foeticide, stars child actors Lehar Khan and Krishang Trivedi, along with "I Am Kalam" child star Harsh Mayar. The film also features actor Rahul Singh, Suhasini Mulay and V.M. Badola. Some of the other entries for this category were "Chilli Girl" (Columbia), "Monster Mountain" (China) and "One and a Half Heroes" (China). The event took place Oct 6. IANS