'To Kill A Tiger' Wins Top Salem Film Fest 2023 Awards

SALEM, MA — The Indian story of a farmer who demands justice for his daughter after she is raped was among the top award winners out of more than 70 screened documentaries at the Salem Film Fest that concluded on Sunday.

The festival, which completed its 16th year, ran for 11 days and, while there were some virtual presentations, it returned as a full, in-person event for the first time sine prior to the COVID-19 health crisis.

"The reception we received this year from filmmakers and audience members was incredible," said Fest Director Joe Ferrari. "It was great seeing their smiling faces back in theaters, and we no doubt experienced a full festival atmosphere."

"To Kill A Tiger" and director Nisha Pahuja won top honors in both the Special Jury and Michael Sullivan Award for Documentary Journalism handed out early Sunday afternoon.

Other award winners in the state's largest all-documentary film festival included "North Circular" capturing the American Cinematographer Magazine Award for top Cinematoprophy, and "Cabin Music" capturing the Cultrera Cuts Editing Award. "The Grab" captured the Audience Award and "Don't Know If You Remember This" captured Best Short.

"What a wonderful surprise for me and Executive Producer Atul Gawande to learn of our wins at Salem Film Fest," said Pahuja, who attended Salem Film Fest. "It was especially thrilling to be able to share that moment with an audience — we definitely felt the love.

"All of us involved in To Kill A Tiger knew that the story of Ranjit and his quest deserved everything we could muster."

"North Circular" is an Irish musical journey set amid the history and narratives of Dublin's fabled North Circular Road.

"This award has huge meaning for us — as a director I am delighted to see the work of the DOPs, camera team and colour grader acknowledged, and I know they are all thrilled with the accolade from American Cinematographer, which has always been the bible for cinematographers around the world," director Luke McManus said.

"Cabin Music" is the story of a pianist who walks away from the New England Conservatory to backpack across the world and develops a new form of musical composition.

"Salem Film Fest is an oasis of community, curiosity, and creativity, brimming with an enthusiastic commitment to bringing the very best in unique and exciting documentary filmmaking to Salem," director and writer James Carson said. "Winning the Cultrera Cuts Edit Award felt like a trust fall, wherein the hundreds of hours editing and polishing Cabin Music were suddenly embraced by the family of cinema lovers."

"The Grab" follows an investigative journalist as he uncovers the money, influence and alarming rationale behind covert efforts to control the most vital resource on the planet

"Salem is all about the passionate audiences, with such a warm welcome for filmmakers," Film Subject and Producer Nate Halverson said. "And to see everyone packed into theaters again, gasping with shock, laughing together, it's just such a heartwarming sign that our communities are thriving again."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and
Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)