The Satyajit Ray Foundation's Annual Award to a debut feature film showcased in the London
Film Festival has been won this year, in the teeth of unusually strong competition, by
American director Kimberly Peirce's
groundbreaking real-life drama, BOYS DON'T CRY. This is
the Foundation's fourth such award, which goes to an outstanding first feature reflecting
the humanity, compassion and artistry of Satyajit Ray's own films.
While still an infant Thomas Builds-the-Fire's parents were killed in a
tragic house fire. He was rescued by a neighbour, Arnold Joseph, and is brought up
by his grandmother to be rather friendly but feeble. However, he retains a close
connection with the son of his rescuer, Victor Joseph, the very antithesis of Thomas. When Victor's estranged father dies in a lonely caravan in Phoenix the two boys make the
journey to collect his ashes. Evan Adams
Ivan Fila was born in 1956 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He moved to
Germany in 1977 and studied Film and Drama at the Film Academy in
Cologne. Since 1983 he has worked as a director, screenwriter and
producer, mainly of documentaries or dramatiaed documentaries. Lea is
his first feature, it has received many awards, including the Crystal
Star for the Best European Film at the 1997 Brussels Film Festival.
The Satyajit Ray Foundation's Annual Award to a debut feature film showcased in the London
Film Festival has been won this year, in the teeth of unusually strong competition, by
American director Kimberly Peirce's
groundbreaking real-life drama, BOYS DON'T CRY. This is
the Foundation's fourth such award, which goes to an outstanding first feature reflecting
the humanity, compassion and artistry of Satyajit Ray's own films. 
While still an infant Thomas Builds-the-Fire's parents were killed in a
tragic house fire. He was rescued by a neighbour, Arnold Joseph, and is brought up
by his grandmother to be rather friendly but feeble. However, he retains a close
connection with the son of his rescuer, Victor Joseph, the very antithesis of Thomas. When Victor's estranged father dies in a lonely caravan in Phoenix the two boys make the
journey to collect his ashes. Evan Adams
Ivan Fila was born in 1956 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He moved to
Germany in 1977 and studied Film and Drama at the Film Academy in
Cologne. Since 1983 he has worked as a director, screenwriter and
producer, mainly of documentaries or dramatiaed documentaries. Lea is
his first feature, it has received many awards, including the Crystal
Star for the Best European Film at the 1997 Brussels Film Festival.
