Black Sand, an Indian documentary makes it into the Oscar nominations 

Black Sand a documentary film directed by Sohan Roy and produced by Abhini Sohan Roy under the banner of Aries Telecasting Pvt Ltd has qualified for 2021 Oscar awards under the section for Documentary Short Catagory. In a statement issued by the company, it said,’ Black Sand is one of the 114 movies that got selected into this category.

The documentary showcases the horror caused by the irrevocable damage caused by sand mining at Alappad in Kollam district which has engulfed half of the inhabitants’ land and homes. Sohan Roy is a marine professional by profession and based in UAE, his directorial Hollywood movie DAM 999 was also contended for the 2011 Oscars and received five selections in three categories.

Black Sand has also got official selection at the Rajasthan International Film Festival 2021 scheduled for March 20-24 at Jaipur. Earlier Jallikattu, India’s official entry in the Best International Feature category at the 93rd Academy Awards, is out of the Oscars race but the short film Bittu entered in the next round in the Best Live Action Short Film segment. Bittu is directed by Karishma Dev Dube, based on a true story, the movie is a short film about a close friendship between two girls, eclipsed by an accident at their school.

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Bittu is presented by Indian Women Rising (IWR), a cinema collective that was recently formed by filmmakers Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga, Tahira Kashyap Khurrana, and Ruchika Kapoor. The final nominations for the Academy Awards will be announced on March 15. The last Indian film that made it to the final five in the Best International Feature category was Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan in 2001. In 2019, Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy, starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, was India’s entry to the Oscars. In the past, Mehboob Khan’s Mother India and Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay (1989) are the other two Indian movies to have made it to the top five.

The 93rd prestigious Academy Awards, which were postponed from their usual February date due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be held on April 25 in USA.

Also Read: Jallikattu out of Oscars 2021 race; short film Bittu makes it to the next round