The National Film Award for Best Arts/Cultural Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for non-feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus).
The award was instituted in 1985, at 33rd National Film Awards and awarded annually for films produced in the year across the country, in all Indian languages.
Winners
Award includes 'Rajat Kamal' (Silver Lotus) and cash prize. Following are the award winners over the years:
List of films, showing the year, language(s), producer(s), director(s) and citation
For portraying with sensitivity and insight the vanishing tribe of the Muslim scroll painters whose essentially secular art harmonises painting and singing.
For portraying the philosophy of traditional "Shilpi", transcending the physical form of the sculpture, exploring the collective unconscious of Indian sculptors.
For memorable presentation of form and content of the Bharatnatyam dance through the exposition of Leela Samson's art, brilliantly synthesising dance and cinematographic language.
For focussing attention on a unique intermingling of classical and folk dance traditions which is in danger of extinction through an appealing film form.
For the rich visual texture of the film on Kalarippayuttu with its simple and effective story telling powerfully counterpoints its message of the need to reject violence and war and develop a focused mind as a potent tool of self realisation.
For its rare attempt at interpreting the works of the legendary painter making him accessible even to those uninitiated to his art. The film examines the troubled times that Picasso lived in, his ideals, his relationships and the inevitable symbiosis of his life and work.
For a seamless film aesthetically blending fact, fiction and reconstruction with perceptive interviews bringing out the life of the Madhubani painters of Bihar.
For using powerful imagery and ironical juxtaposition, the film depicts the life of a Koothu artist. With subtlety, it captures the frustration and the hopelessness of a performer whose art is a misfit in a changing cultural world.
For an emotive and enthralling exposition of the passion and dedication of a group, bound by the spirit of music, who transcend the commercial boundary to embrace their original creative flair. Without compromising, the group led to the adventure with courage and guts. The film maker has journeyed through this adventure with dramatic sensibility and compassion.
For taking us on a journey that chronicles the struggle to produce films in strife torn Manipur and in the process painting a vivid canvas, which captures cinema in the state as a medium of popular culture.
For aesthetic delineation of Bharatnatyam through the dance, performances and personal interpretation by one of the greatest living exponents of this classical art form.
For a nuanced depiction of the art, life and socio-historical context of two artists, father and daughter who negotiate their Dalit identity in very different ways through their work.
For a near surreal depiction of a dying art form in a globalised society. The film combines elements of drama and visual art with a lament for a rich cultural tradition
For its wholly unconventional investigation of the Devadasi tradition in South India, combining an appreciation of this delicate and sensuous art form with a genuine sociological exploration.
In the era of animation, an important film that documents a dying art-form which is haunting, touching and kept alive through the sheer will of a community of poor puppeteers.
This enlightening and informative film brings alive an amazing and complex ritual and takes us into the only place in the world where God comes alive as a human being.
A reasoning reverence to Vidushi Girija Devi through her musical journey of more than six decades, highlighting her ability to caress each note and make every word exquisite.
For its rich, textured tapestry of the history, life, craft and art of the traditional Varanasi weaver, and their cultured dignity in the face of numerous challenges.