MUMBAI: The 31st Durban film festival that was held from 22 July to 1 August has named Aamir Khan‘s film Peepli Live as the best first feature film.

Written and directed by Anusha Rizvi, the film is a satire on the farmers‘ suicides and subsequent media and political response in India.

Earlier, Peepli Live has been to festivals like the Sundance Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival. But it is at the Durban Film Festival that the film won an award.

The jury that zeroed in on the awards included producers Aihara Hiromi of Japan and Christoph Thoke of Germany and South African academic, writer and producer Bhekizizwe Peterson.

Peepli Live stars Omkar Das Manikpuri, Raghuvir Yadav, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Naseeruddin Shah and Malaika Shenoy.