Sonal Sehgal’s Manny wins big at Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival

Manny, an Indo-Latvian sci-fi thriller directed by Dace Puce and written and produced by Sonal Sehgal, has swept four awards at the Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival.

According to Festival director Troy Bernier, Manny had the maximum number of nominations and the highest number of awards won by any film. The festival had 120 films in competition from 30 countries. It was held online due to the pandemic. 

Manny won Best Sci-Fi Picture Runner Up, Best Cinematography Award (Gatis Grinbergs), Best Background Score (Naresh Kamath), and Best Supporting Actor (Tony Hawkins).

“I missed the award ceremony because I miscalculated the time difference and literally slept through it all,” Sonal shares. “I thought it was a day later and then I woke up to texts and a few missed calls from the Festival Director Troy Bernier telling me that we had won 'several awards'! I thought I was still dreaming.”

The film is about an Indian woman who travels to Latvia for a writer’s retreat. There, she works on an autobiographical novel while struggling with her identity as a closeted homosexual. Her life unfolds through three love interests: one real, one imaginary, and the third virtual – man, woman and AI. 

Manny has been screened at various film festivals around the world. Earlier, It won Best Film at the European Cinematography Awards.