(Study Material) AWARDS: Aspirants Times Vol - 3 (June 2009)

Submitted by IASguru on Sun, 2009-06-21 20:45

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AWARDS

The 62nd edition of Cannes Film Festival held at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, in the resort town of Cannes, in the south of France from May 13 to May24,2009. The main prize of Cannes Film Festival, the Palme d’Or went to Austrian director Michael Haneke for his austere but powerful The White Ribbon. The film is set among a small Protestant community in northern Germany in the year before the outbreak of First World War. For the first time in Cannes history, in 2009, jury had a majority of women, five out of the nine members.

WINNERS

» Palme d'Or: Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon) directed by Michael HANEKE
» Grand Prix: Un Prophète (A Prophet) directed by Jacques AUDIARD
» Best Director: Brilliante Mendoza of the Philippines for Kinatay.
» Best Screenplay: Lou Ye for Chun Feng Chen Zui De Ye Wan (Spring Fever)
» Best Actress: Charlotte Gainsbourg in Antichrist directed by Danish film-maker's Lars Von Trier
» Best Actor: Austrian Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds directed by Quentin Tarantino
» Jury Prize Ex-aequo: Fish Tank directed by Andrea Arnold and
» Bak-Jwi (Thirst) directed by Park Chan-Wook
» Lifetime achievement award for his work : Les Herbes Folles (Wild Grass) directed by Alain Resnais
» Palme d'Or for Short Film: Portugal's Arena directed by João salaviza
» Short Film Special Distinction: The Six Dollar Fifty Man directed by Louis Sutherland

• Wildlife biologist M.D. Madhusudan was awarded the Whitley Award in recognition of his work to reduce human-wildlife conflict in the Western Ghats. M.D. Madhusudhan is working as the Director of the Mysore-based Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF). The award, reckoned to be one of the most important international nature conservation awards, includes a 30000 ponds project grant to carry forward outstanding science-based research and conservation efforts. Two other Indian conservationists Sudipto Chatterjee and Supraja Dharini also received Associate Awards. Sudipto Chatterjee was given 10000 ponds to develop an action plan to conserve wild rhododendrons in the Eastern Himalayas while Supraja Dharini was given similar support for a community based initiative to protect sea turtles and dolphins in Kancheepuram.

• Bina Agarwal, Professor of Economics at the Institute of Economic Growth was conferred the Leontief Award 2009. The Award is given to recognise outstanding contribution to economic theory that addresses contemporary realities and supports just and sustainable societies. Leontief Award has been instituted in the honor of Nobel laureate Wassily Leontief, given by the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University, US. John K. Galbraith, Amartya Sen, Paul Streeten, Herman Daly, Dani Rodrik and Robert Wade are among the distinguished winners of the Leontief Award in previous years.

• Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Biotechnology-major, Biocon was awarded ‘Nikkei Asia Prize’ 2009 for Regional Growth on May 11,2009. Japan's business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) awards Nikkei Asia Prizes annually to individuals or institutions from Asia Pacific region recognizing outstanding achievements that improve the quality of life in Asia. Established in 1996 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Nikkei's founding, the Prize is given to promote mutual understanding among Asian nations and to help people around the world deepen their understanding of Asia.

• Pro-democracy leader of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi was chosen for Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Justice 2009. Leader of National League for Democracy (NLD) of Myanmar 63-year old Suu Kyi is a prisoner for the last two decades in her own country, Myanmar. Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Justice is awarded by the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation of South Africa. Ela Gandhi is the chairman of the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation.

• All India Radio has got three awards at the 10th International Radio Festival of Iran organized by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), in Tehran. ‘Family No.1’ a programme on HIV/AIDS produced by All India Radio, Lucknow was given the Best Programme Award in the category- ‘Radio Competition’. The Presenter of the ‘Family No.1’ Vivek Srivastava was given the Best Presenter Award in the competition. The script writer of the programme ‘Ripples in a Still Pond’ Ms. Anubha Mukerji Sen bagged Second Prize in the category of ‘Script Writers’ of the programme-entries.