Assam girl Nayanmoni Mura wins the Best Youth Artist award at the Toronto International Women Film Festival this year, marking yet another achievement for the Assamese film ‘KUMU’.
Nayanmoni Mura, a ninth-class student, is from the Dhontula Tea Estate in Assam’s Nagaon district.
She was named Best Youth Artist for her role in Akanshya Bhagabati’s Assamese short KUMU, which recently received the Best Short Film award at the SiGNS Film Festival in Kerala.
Akanshya Bhagabati, the film’s director and writer, confirmed the news after receiving a mail from the festival’s organisers in Canada.
She told the reporters that she received a mail on Wednesday confirming Nayanmoni Mura’s selection as the best actress in the youth category.
The director also stated that Nayanmoni was overjoyed when she learned that she had been selected as the Best Youth Artist at the Toronto International Women Film Festival 2022.
Nayanmoni said that when the film’s director approached her, she was perplexed and sceptical, given her lack of acting experience. ‘I’m really glad I did it,’ she remarked.
The film KUMU depicts the life and journey of a 12-year-old Adivasi girl who was forced to forgo her independence and education owing to her family’s financial situation.
