Vinod Kapri (born 15 August 1972) is an award-winning filmmaker, author, and television journalist with over 30 years of storytelling experience across cinema and news media. Kapri is known for blending realism with drama, creating films that balance artistic depth with global appeal. He won the prestigious national award for the film “Can't Take This Shit Anymore" in 2014. He made his feature debut with "Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho" (2015) - a socio-legal satire that received extensive critical acclaim. His second feature film "Pihu", released globally in 2018, has been widely appreciated in prestigious international film festivals. His powerful documentary film "1232 KMS" (2021) about the heartbreaking journey of migrant workers during the first COVID-19 lockdown earned tremendous critical acclaim and won a national award. Pyre (film), is his latest film had its world premiere at the 28th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in the Official Competition section, where it was the only film in the competition category and won the best film PÖFF Audience Award. Pyre (film) was the opening film at the 16th Bengaluru International Film Festival, marking its Indian premiere, and has won the Jury Special Mention Award in the Asian Cinema Competition section. Pyre also had its Belgian premiere at the 12th Mooov Film Festival, followed by a North American premiere at the 25th New York Indian Film Festival, where the two lead actors were nominated for Best Actor. The film had its Spanish premiere at the 22nd Asian Summer Film Festival in Vic, where it won two major awards: the Best Film Audience Award and the Best Film Jury Special Mention Award. Its UK premiere took place at the 16th London Indian Film Festival, followed by a screening in the Birmingham Indian Film Festival, where it once again won the Best Film Audience Award at both festivals. The film is also part of the Indian Competition section at the 22nd Indian Film Festival Stuttgart (German premiere) on 26th July, where Pyre won the German Star of India Best Feature Film Award.
Again the journey continued in the United States where Pyre was the Closing Night Film at the 8th India International Film Festival of Boston, where it also won the Best Feature Film Award and Best Director Award. It went on to win the Best Film Grand Jury Award at the 14th DC South Asian Film Festival in Washington DC and the Best Film Award at the 16th Chicago South Asian Film Festival. The film continued its journey at the Novi Sad International Film Festival in Serbia, where Vinod Kapri received the Best Director Award in the International Competition, and the film was also chosen as the Opening Night Film at the Serbian Film Festival. Most recently, it won Best Feature Film and Best Music at the 11th Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival, Toronto, Canada.
Beyond its major award wins, Pyre has also been showcased at several prestigious international festivals around the world. It was officially selected for the 49th São Paulo International Film Festival, the 44th Cambridge Film Festival, the 35th Bath Film Festival in the United Kingdom, the 43rd Fajr International Film Festival in Iran, and the 23rd Inverness Film Festival in Scotland. Pyre continued its festival journey with invitations from multiple global platforms, further establishing its position as one of the most celebrated and widely travelled Indian independent films of the year.
Journalistic career
In 2002, he was made an output editor of Zee News. In 2004, he moved to Star News as an Executive Producer and rose to the post of Deputy Managing Editor. In 2007, he joined India TV as a Managing editor.[1][2]
Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho
His debut film Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho was released on 26 June 2015.[3]Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho is a social-political satire inspired by true incident in Rajasthan.[4][5]
The film starred Annu Kapoor, Om Puri and Sanjay Mishra. It also featured Ravi Kishen, Rahul Bagga and Hrishitaa Bhatt. The story of the movie is based in Tanakpur, a village in Haryana, ruled by a power wielding 'pradhan' whose wife falls in love with a youth in the village. Discovering the reality, and spotting both his wife and the youth together, the village headman plots a conspiracy and falsely implicates the youth on charges of raping his buffalo. The 'pradhan' exploits all the resources in the system to extract his personal revenge – helped by corrupt cops while legal system seemed helpless. However, truth prevails in the end and the youth is acquitted of absurd charges. Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho uncovers the duplicity of society that allows powerful men to misuse the establishments to settle their own score.[6][7][8]
Pihu
Pihu has a single protagonist Pihu, who is a two-year-old girl. This film is based on a true incident reported in a national daily in 2014, where a 4-year-old girl was left alone at home by the parents. The film is a social thriller by genre.[9]
Pyre
Pyre is an Indian (Hindi-Kumaoni) language drama film directed by filmmaker Vinod Kapri. Pyre had its world premiere at the 28th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in the Official Competition section, where it won the best film PÖFF Audience Award. Pyre was also the opening film at 16th Bengaluru International Film Festival,[10][11] marking its Indian premiere, and has won the Jury Special Mention Award in the Asian Cinema Competition section. Pyre also won the Best Film Audience Award in Spain, London, and Birmingham, and recently, Pyre won the Best Feature Film Grand Jury Award in Stuttgart, Germany.
Pyre had a Belgian premiere at the 12th MOOOV Film Festival, followed by a North American premiere at the 25th New York Indian Film Festival, where the two lead actors were nominated for Best Actor. The film had its Spanish premiere at the 22nd Asian Summer Film Festival in Vic, where it won two major awards: the Best Film Audience Award and the Best Film Jury Special Mention Award. Its UK premiere took place at the 16th London Indian Film Festival, followed by a screening in the Birmingham Indian Film Festival, where it once again won the Best Film Audience Award at both festivals. The film is also part of the Indian Competition section at the 22nd Indian Film Festival Stuttgart (German premiere) on 26th July, where Pyre won the German Star of India Best Feature Film Award.
Again the journey continued in the United States where Pyre was the Closing Night Film at the 8th India International Film Festival of Boston, where it also won the Best Feature Film Award and Best Director Award. It went on to win the Best Film Grand Jury Award at the 14th DC South Asian Film Festival in Washington DC and the Best Film Award at the 16th Chicago South Asian Film Festival.The film continued its journey at the Novi Sad International Film Festival in Serbia, where Vinod Kapri received the Best Director Award in the International Competition, and the film was also chosen as the Opening Night Film at the Serbian Film Festival. Most recently, it won Best Feature Film and Best Music at the 11th Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival, Toronto, Canada.
Beyond its major award wins, Pyre has also been showcased at several prestigious international festivals around the world. It was officially selected for the 49th São Paulo International Film Festival, the 44th Cambridge Film Festival, the 35th Bath Film Festival in the United Kingdom, the 43rd Fajr International Film Festival in Iran, and the 23rd Inverness Film Festival in Scotland. Pyre continued its festival journey with invitations from multiple global platforms, further establishing its position as one of the most celebrated and widely travelled Indian independent films of the year.
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