Awards & Honors(November 2025)

1. 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa (Nov 20–28)

The festival concluded with a diverse set of winners from across the globe:

• Golden Peacock (Best Film): Skin of Youth (Vietnamese film directed by Ash Mayfair). The jury described it as a poignant portrayal of intense romance.
• Silver Peacock (Best Director): Santosh Davakhar for the Marathi film Gondhal.
• Best Actor (Male): Ubeimar Ríos for his role in the Spanish film A Poet.
• Best Actor (Female): Jara Sofija Ostan for the Slovenian film Little Trouble Girls.
• Best Web Series (OTT): Bandish Bandits (Season 2) (directed by Anand Tiwari).
• ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal: Safe House (Norwegian film directed by Eirik Svensson), awarded for promoting peace and non-violence.
• Special Jury Award: Akinola Davies Jr. for the film My Father’s Shadow.

2. Major National & International Awards

• Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2025: Announced for Graça Machel, the Mozambican human rights activist and former First Lady of both South Africa and Mozambique. She was cited for her path-breaking work in education, health, and child welfare.
• Booker Prize 2025: Awarded to David Szalay for his fiction work (joining the ranks of elite literary figures).
• Earthshot Prize 2025: Held in Rio de Janeiro, the £1 million "Fix Our Climate" award was won by the NGO Friendship from Bangladesh for its work on mangrove restoration and disaster relief.
• International Booker Prize 2025 (Cross-check): Won earlier in the year by Banu Mushtaq for Heart Lamp (the first-ever Kannada work to win).

3. Special Recognitions & Appointments

• Chevalier Award (France): Conferred upon legendary Indian art director Thota Tharani.
• Karnataka Rajyotsava Award 2025: Awarded to Prof. Ravindra Korisettar for his contributions to archaeology and history.
• Manohar Parrikar Yuva Scientist Award: Presented to Dr. Sai Gautam Gopalakrishnan for excellence in scientific research.
• Patriot of the Year (Fox Nation): Awarded to Melania Trump.

4. Literary Milestones: Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2025

The Sahitya Akademi announced its young talent awards for several languages:

• English: Advait Kottary for the novel Siddhartha: The Boy Who Became the Buddha.
• Hindi: Parvati Tirkey for the poetry collection Phir Ugna.
• Assamese: Suprakash Bhuyan for Kuchiyanama (Short Stories).
• Bengali: Sudeshna Moitra for Ekrokha Chiruni Tollashi (Poetry).

5. The Booker Prize 2025 (Nov 10)

• Winner: David Szalay (Hungarian-British) for his sixth novel, Flesh.
• Historical Significance: He is the first Hungarian-British author to win. The novel was praised for its "singularity" and "brilliant humanity."
• Indian Note: Kiran Desai was on the shortlist for The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny.

6. The Earthshot Prize 2025 (Nov 5)

Held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Five winners each received £1 million:

• Fix Our Climate: Friendship (Bangladesh) — for mangrove-based climate resilience.
• Revive Our Oceans: The High Seas Treaty (High Seas Alliance) — for historic ocean protection.
• Protect & Restore Nature: re.green (Brazil) — for large-scale forest restoration using AI.
• Clean Our Air: City of Bogotá (Colombia) — for its "Barrios Vitales" (Vital Neighborhoods) project.
• Build a Waste-Free World: Lagos Fashion Week (Nigeria) — for circular fashion initiatives.

7. Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2025

• Recipient: Graça Machel (Mozambique).
• Citation: The jury, chaired by Shivshankar Menon, selected her for her lifetime work in education, child welfare, and humanitarianism.
• Note: The 2024 prize was formally presented to Michelle Bachelet (Former President of Chile) during the same period.

8. Other Notable Honors

• France’s Chevalier Award: Conferred upon Indian art director Thota Tharani.
• Karnataka Rajyotsava Award: Prof. Ravindra Korisettar (Archaeology).
• Manohar Parrikar Yuva Scientist Award: Dr. Sai Gautam Gopalakrishnan.
• Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Lifetime): Salman Rushdie.
• Miss Universe 2025: Fátima Bosch (Mexico) won the 74th edition held in Thailand.