DHAKA (UCAN) -- The Bangladeshi movie Ghani (cycle) and Malaysian film Cinta (love) won top honors in the "Spiritual" category of the 10th Dhaka International Film Festival.

A panel of three Catholics awarded Ghani the prize and Cinta a commendation in this category, new to the annual festival this year, the first time the Church communications organization SIGNIS has taken part. SIGNIS organized the Spirituality jury.

Two other categories also made their debut this year, "International" and "Audience," the latter providing a chance for the public to have a say.

The festival, with the theme "Better Film, Better Audience, Better Society," was held Jan. 10-18 at the auditorium of the Dhaka public library and selected venues in the capital. It screened 33 films from seven countries.

Father Kamal Corraya, president of SIGNIS Bangladesh and one of the three jury members for the Spiritual award, said both Ghani and Cinta depict the importance of family values, a subject the Church is keen to promote.

Ghani, made and directed by Kazi Morshed in 2007, tells the story of Afsu and Shamsu, two elderly brothers who run a traditional hand mill that makes oil from oilseeds. Afsu's son dies during a strike in Dhaka, where he went to work as a vegetable seller hoping to earn enough to restore the broken hand mill. Other plot elements include the sudden marriage of Shamsu's son and the family's misery following the theft of the bull that powers the mill.

Cinta, directed by Kabir Bhatia, "tells five love stories of modern times," according to the festival's bulletin. It depicts how five couples fulfilled their lives with love and how they also lost people they love. The film explores the different meanings of love for a sibling, husband, wife and child, and how it was for the previous generation, according to the bulletin.

Archbishop Paulinus Costa of Dhaka explained at a reception on Jan. 15 at his residence, "A good film can help people be better persons, and likewise a bad film can influence people badly, especially the young generation."

Archbishop Costa, president of Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh, hosted the reception in honor of the festival delegates. About 300 people including diplomats, priests, nuns, Catholic laypeople and people of other faiths participated.

The prelate told the gathering he appreciated this year's film festival theme. He added that better films can bring light in the darkness and can enlighten people to aspire for a good way to live in all aspects of life.

"I do hope that people will think more and more to make better films which can give good guidance and direction to our young generation," Archbishop Costa said.

Father Corraya told UCA News on Jan. 21 that the Church "always encourages that good films be made." Therefore, it got involved in the festival to encourage films that promote values in accord with Church teachings. Toward this goal, it took part in judging and awarding films that show family relations, mutual respect, forgiveness, love and hope, explained the priest, who is also the editor of Bangladesh's only Catholic weekly, Pratibeshi.

The two other Spiritual category jury members were SIGNIS president Augustine Loorthusamy and Thomas Costa, a Dhaka university teacher and former development director for Caritas Bangladesh, the Catholic Church's social service agency.

The activities of SIGNIS in the field of cinema follow in the footsteps of OCIC, the former international Catholic organization for cinema and audiovisuals, established in 1928. The organization built a tradition of film reviewing that is still alive today, according to the SIGNIS website.

SIGNIS was formed in 2001 through the merger of OCIC and Unda, the former international Catholic association for radio and television.

Today, SIGNIS organizes SIGNIS, ecumenical or interfaith juries in more than 30 film festivals around the world, including Cannes, Berlin, and Venice.

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