Vinod Ganatra conferred Nelson Mandela Lifetime Achievement Award

Globally acclaimed film-maker Vinod Ganatra has become the first Indian to be conferred the prestigious ‘Nelson Mandela Lifetime Achievement Award’ of South Africa for his contribution to films. He was honoured with the coveted award at the ongoing 7th Nelson Mandela Children’s Film Festival, for his immense contributions to the world of cinema for kids,an official said on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.Ganatra has bagged 36 national and international awards, including the ‘Janakinath Gaur Award’ from Doordarshan for his children’s programme, ‘Baingan Raja.’ He became the only Indian filmmaker to receive the ‘Liv Ullmann Peace Prize’, in Chicago, for his Gujarati film, ‘Harun-Arun’.Ganatra has been invited to serve on the jury of over 100 national, regional and international film festivals world over in the past three decades. He has edited and directed more than 400 documentaries and newsreels, apart from producing 25 multilingual television programmes for children and youth.For 12-consecutive years, Vinod has served on the Board of the UNESCO’s 1995-founded International Centre of Films for Children & Young People, and is an honorary member there at present.