Lithuanian co-production "Ayena" triumphed at the Indian National Golden Lotus Film Awards

India's National Golden Lotus Film Awards took place in New Delhi, where the documentary film Ayena (Mirror) was named the best non-fiction film. Directed by Siddhant Sarin, the film is a co-production between India, Lithuania and South Korea, with the participation of Lithuanian producers Arūnas Matelis and Algimantė Matelienė, composer Gintaras Sodeika, colour designer Tomas Rugys Rugevičius, singer Aldegunda, MAMA Studios and others.

The main protagonists of ‘Ayena’ are Ritu and Faraha, two Indian women with shocking fates, who survived the violence of their relatives – they had acid thrown on their faces and were incurably mutilated. According to the director, this form of violence is very common in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and the aim of such crimes is to deprive women of their identity, to deny them the right to live a full life in the future. Despite the fact that the heroines of Ayena experience ostracism from those around them, they become advocates for rights of women with similar fates, and they help other crippled women. “Ayena” is a film that speaks on behalf of women about the rejection of victimhood and the determination of the characters to start living again.

The film has been selected for numerous festivals and won five awards. Production of the film was supported by the Lithuanian Film Centre, Asian Cinema Fund, the EIDF Foundation of South Korea, Doc Edge, the YES International Film Festival Foundation, and the Busan International Film Festival of South Korea.