"Make Impossible Possible" -- Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia Announced The 3rd Biogen Award: Barefoot Empress

Non-Fiction Short Film About a Woman Who Started School at 96 in India

TOKYO, June 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Academy Awards® qualifying Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2022 has announced The 3^rd "Biogen Award", which was selected out of the films nominated to SSFF & ASIA 2022 competitions, as Barefoot Empress directed by Vikas Khanna.

One of the world's first global biotechnology companies, Biogen has been SSFF & ASIA's partner for 3 years and continued to provide ethical pharmaceuticals for neurological diseases based on its vision of "Make Impossible Possible in Neuroscience". Among the films to be screened, the Biogen Award is presented to a film that powerfully conveys the theme of "Make Impossible Possible". 

Followed by the 1^st award winner "Final Exam" (Singapore) and the 2^nd "Stairs", the winner of this year's Biogen Award is "Barefoot Empress" an Indian Film from Non-Fiction Program. It is a story about a woman who starts school at the age of 96.  The director Vikas Khanna is also a Michelin Star Chef. He wanted to portray a woman who forges an identity by action. This story will inspire many dreamers out there that you can do anything regardless of age or custom. 

This film will be streaming at the SSFF & ASIA 2022 Online Theater from today till June 30^th, as well as screened at Euro Live in Tokyo on June 9^th.

URL：https://shortshorts.org/2022/en/program/nonfiction/nonfiction-1/barefoot-empress/

"Barefoot Empress"
Vikas Khanna / 0:15:32 / India / Non-Fiction / 2021

96-year-old Karthiyani Amma lived a life sweeping temples in India. Decades later she broke with tradition returning to school. There, she shattered expectations, earning the top score in her class. Her inspirational story is proof that it's never too late to realize your dreams.

Director : Vikas Khanna
An internationally acclaimed Indian American chef and one of the 1st Indian chefs to be awarded a Michelin Star in the U.S. He was also featured amongst the 10 most influential chefs in the world by Deutsche Welle. An author of 37 books, and documentarian. The Last Color marked his debut as a film writer/director.

Comments from the director
My heart is dancing right now as we receive the Biogen Award at Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia.  Make Impossible Possible...well that fits so perfectly with our heroine, Kartyayani Amma's journey to find education at the age of 96 in a rural village in India.

Media contact:
Fuyumi Tanaka
[email protected]
+81-354748201

SOURCE Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia