The well-known director Vinod Ganatra has made history as the first Indian to receive South Africa’s coveted “Nelson Mandela Lifetime Achievement Award” for his contributions to the motion picture industry. At the ongoing 7th Nelson Mandela Children’s Film Festival, he was bestowed with the esteemed prize in recognition of his enormous contributions to the field of children’s film.
36 national and international honors have been bestowed upon Ganatra, including Doordarshan’s “Janakinath Gaur Award” for his children’s show “Baingan Raja.” With his Gujarati film “Harun-Arun,” he became the only Indian director to win the “Liv Ullmann Peace Prize” in Chicago.
Over the past three decades, Ganatra has received invitations to serve on the juries of over 100 national, regional, and international film festivals worldwide. He has produced 25 multilingual television shows for kids and teens in addition to editing and directing over 400 documentaries and newsreels.