“Lion” receives Zurich Film Fest’s Diversity in Film award

PanARMENIAN.Net - Garth Davis’s “Lion” has received the Diversity in Film award from Zurich Film Festival, which opened with “Lion”‘s s European premiere in September, Variety said.

“Lion,” which was produced by Iain Canning and Emile Sherman at See-Saw Films and was released domestically by The Weinstein Company, will be given the Diversity award on Dec. 28th during a special screening of ‘Lion’ hosted by Harvey Weinstein in Gstaad. The award will be presented by Karl Spoerri, the co-director of Zurich Film Festival.

Starring Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, Nicole Kidman and Sunny Pawar, ‘Lion’ tells the true story of five year old Saroo Brierley who was adopted by an Australian couple after being tragically separated from his family, and embarked into a journey to find his birth mother 25 years later.

Zurich Film Festival’s co-directors Karl Spoerri and Nadja Schildknecht said, “At a time when we’ve seen so much divisiveness across the globe, it’s important to have a film that speaks to the power of bringing people together.”

The pair added, “Love is the driving force that can ultimately create amazing change both for those who give it unconditionally and those who are recipients of it.”

Davis, meanwhile, said he’s “always been a firm believer in the power of film and art to create positive change.”

“‘Lion’ is the perfect example of the power of unconditional love and its ability to transcend any socially constructed differences. At the end of the day, we are all humans and we share an enormous capacity to love and be loved,” said David, adding that “more than ever, this film reminds us to be open, tolerant, and kind to all people no matter our differences.