MUMBAI: UFO Moviez has been awarded the ‘Idea IIFA Innovation Award in Indian Cinema’ at the grand finale of the 8th Annual International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) 2007 awards on 9 June 2007 at Yorkshire.

The decision to honour UFO Moviez was taken after a unanimous decision of the Advisory Board comprising Amitabh Bachchan, Ramesh Sippy, J P Dutta, Karan Johar, Jaya Bachchan, Pahlaj Nihalani, Shyam Shroff, Vinod Khanna, David Dhawan and Manmohan Shetty.

The Idea IIFA Award for Innovation in Indian Cinema is a Special Award which appreciates and honours innovation in the field of cinema, be it in techniques, ideas, technology or even creativity.

UFO Moviez vice chairman Raaja Kanwar along with UFO Moviez founder and CEO Sanjay Gaikwad was present to receive the award.

Kanwar said, “On behalf of all my colleagues at UFO, all our partners and well wishers, I am thrilled to accept this prestigious award. It is a global recognition of an Indian company for its path breaking technological initiatives in the film industry.”

Gaikwad added “Set to revolutionize the way films are distributed and exhibited through its pioneering technology and infrastructure, UFO Moviez envisages a ‘FIRST DAY FIRST SHOW’ regime for film distributors and cinema owners across the country. We are elated with the Award and rededicate ourselves to creating the largest piracy-free digital cinema infrastructure world wide.”

IIFA director Andre Timmins said, “IIFA is proud to honour UFO Moviez Limited for their technological innovation which is all set to bring about a paradigm shift in the Cinema business. In the past too, IIFA has recognized the achievements of Indian companies who have made pioneering efforts to put the Indian film industry on the global map.”

UFO Moviez, which has changed the way films are distributed and exhibited with their path breaking innovation in digital technology, is the first recepient of the award. UFO Moviez claims to be the largest digital cinema operator in the world.