NEW DELHI: Richie Mehta’s Siddharth won the German Star of India award in the feature film category at the recent 11th Indian Film Festival Stuttgart which attracted several non-Indians to see the films.

The award of 4000 euros is given to a film that narrates a very serious political theme in a very poetic and humorous way.

The German Star of India award in the short film category went to Tamaash by Satyanshu and Devanshu Singh. The prize was of 1000 Euros. Tamaash is the story of Anzar, a poor performer at school who is scorned by his elders. He is expected to fare better than Sadat, a high scorer in class. Anzar seeks the help of a mysterious stranger, but following the new guide becomes increasingly tough for him and his kid brother.

In the documentary category, the winner was Millions can Walk by Swiss director Chistoph Schaub and Swiss-Indian director Kamal Musale. The documentary traces hundreds and thousands of Indian men and women – indigenous inhabitants and landless farmers –  who demanded their right to existence by undertaking a 400 kilometre protest march from Gwalior to Delhi in 2012.

The Director’s Vision Award went to Lakshmi by the renowned Nagesh Kukunoor while the equally well known Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar got the Audience Award for Astu.