Last year at its 54th edition, International Film Festival of India introduced for the first time Best Web Series (OTT) Award. Continuing with it this year as well, the award will recognise exceptional storytelling in the digital space.
At the 55th International Film Festival of India, the above mentioned award category has witnessed a remarkable rise in popularity, with submissions surging by over 40% across 10 major OTT platforms. This highlights the growing impact of content streaming in the entertainment ecosystem of the country.
This year 5 web series have been short listed for Best Web Series Award with Netflix dominating with maximum two entries, followed by one each from Prime Video, Zee5 and SonyLIV.
The series are Netflix’s ‘Kota Factory’, a TVF production and created by Saurabh Khanna; and survival thriller drama ‘Kaala Paani’ by Sameer Saxena. Prime Video’s period drama series ‘Jubilee’ by Vikramaditya Motwane is the next in the list.
From Zee5 we have Tamil series ‘Ayali’ by Muthukumar which focuses on the patriarchal aspects of Tamil society and Indian society in general. SonyLIV enters the list with Marathi series ‘Lampan’ based on stories written by Prakash Narayan Sant and is the tale of a dreamy child with unbounded curiosity.
According to the official statement from IFFI, the Best Web Series Award will recognise the Director, Creator, and Producer of the winning web series, along with the associated OTT platform. The winners will receive a cash prize of 10 Lakhs and certificates, celebrating their exceptional contributions to the world of digital storytelling.