'Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know' Wins First Prize At Cannes: Story & Where To Watch

In a true underdog story, a captivating 16-minute Indian short riddled with folklore has stolen the spotlight at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. ‘Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know,’ helmed by up-and-coming director Chidananda S Naik from Pune's prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), took home the coveted La Cinef Award for Best Short.

'Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know' Trailer

‘Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know’ Story

Inspired by tales Naik grew up with in Karnataka, the film spins an imaginative yarn about an elderly village woman who audaciously swipes the community's prized rooster. Her brazen act unleashes unintended consequences, plunging the village into round-the-clock darkness when "the sun never rises again," according to the director's interview with Variety.

Desperate to restore the light, the villagers launch a quest to retrieve their cherished feathered friend, guided by an ancient prophecy that exiles the thieving granny's family. Shot solely at night, the mystical atmosphere adds to the folkloric enchantment.

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In a Film Companion interview, Naik revealed he carried this obscure regional story from his childhood, remarking, “I was having the idea since my childhood. And when we were discussing about films and when we were brainstorming and I told this to my team mates, they liked the idea but they never heard this tale and I was surprised and I start asking everyone out of Karnataka like have you heard this story and they are like we have never heard about this and if you tell this in Karnataka everyone knows, even a small kid knows the story.

'Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know' Where To Watch

Distribution details remain undisclosed, but there's a chance it could soon land on an OTT platform.

La Cinef, the Cannes Film Festival's student film competition, featured 18 finalists culled from a staggering 2,263 entries from 555 film schools worldwide.

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Image Courtesy: IMDb