Kolkata/Bhubaneswar: India-born filmmaker Soumya Jyoti Pratihari’s documentary on veteran Odia artist and writer Prafulla Mohanti has won the Tongues on Fire Flame Award for the best LGBTQIA+ film at the UK Asian Film Festival
The award comes days after the documentary — Shunya: Being Prafulla Mohanti — had its world premiere at Riverside Studios in London May 6.
The film chronicles the journey of Mohanti, 91, an artist, writer, architect and cultural thinker whose work has explored themes of identity, migration, spirituality and human connection over several decades.
Pratihari, an alumnus of Goldsmiths, University of London, spent nearly five years working closely with Mohanti, giving the documentary an intimate and reflective tone.
Speaking about the recognition, Pratihari said, “I have been visiting the UKAFF for the last few years as an audience. The film is hand-stitched over seven years, and I feel privileged and honoured to have bagged the award.”
Producer Prodeepta Das said, “It has been a long journey and a relief to have the film on the big screen and what a pleasure for the film to be recognised and awarded by the UK Asian Film Festival. We are grateful.”
The title “Shunya” draws from the philosophical idea of emptiness and infinity, themes that frequently appear in Mohanti’s paintings and writings.
The documentary traces Mohanti’s journey from a village in Odisha to Mumbai’s J J School of Art, and later to England, where he worked as an architect and town planner before dedicating himself fully to painting and literature, Pratihari said.
It also highlights the racism and isolation Mohanti faced after moving to Britain. A violent racist attack in London is portrayed as a turning point that pushed him closer to art and writing.
Alongside his late partner Derek Moore, Mohanti also worked to encourage creativity among children and women in his native village through workshops in art, dance and storytelling.
Blending archival footage, interviews and personal reflections, the documentary presents a portrait of an artist who continued to create despite personal loss, ageing and illness.