Malayalam cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Malayalam language, which is widely spoken in the state of Kerala and Lakshadweep islands of india. Malayalam cinema includes the commercial film industry, sometimes known as Mollywood, as well as independent cinema made in Malayalam.
Mani Kaul was an Indian director of Hindi films and a figure in Indian parallel cinema. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and later became a teacher. Starting his career with Uski Roti (1969), which won him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie, he went on to win four of them in all. He won the National Film Award for Best Direction in 1974 for Duvidha and later the National Film Award for his documentary film Siddheshwari in 1989.
Biju Viswanath is an Indian film director, director of photography, film editor and screenwriter. Across various genres, he has made numerous films in different languages, notably, English, Tamil, Malayalam, Irish, Swahili & Urdu.
T. V. Chandran is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor, predominantly working in Malayalam cinema. Born in a Malayali family in Thalassery, Chandran worked as a Reserve Bank of India employee before entering the film industry. He started his film career as an assistant director to P. A. Backer. He also acted the lead role in Backer's highly acclaimed political drama Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol (1975). He made his directorial debut with the unreleased feature Krishnan Kutty (1981), and followed this with the Tamil film Hemavin Kadhalargal (1985). Chandran came into prominence after Alicinte Anveshanam (1989), which was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival. This was followed with Ponthan Mada (1993), his most famous film to date. Chandran is most known for his art-house films which have references to history and undertones of politics and feminism. He is also known for his trilogy on 2002 Gujarat riots, consisting of Kathavasheshan (2004), Vilapangalkappuram (2008) and Bhoomiyude Avakashikal (2012). Other highly acclaimed films include Mangamma (1997), Dany (2001) and Paadam Onnu: Oru Vilapam (2003).
Anandabhadram is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language romantic dark fantasy horror film based on the novel of the same name by Sunil Parameshwaran, and directed by Santosh Sivan. The story concerns ghosts, spirits, and black magic. The film stars Manoj K. Jayan as the central character, with Prithviraj Sukumaran and Kavya Madhavan in the titular roles. While Kalabhavan Mani, Biju Menon, Riya Sen, Revathy, Kalasala Babu, Cochin Haneefa and Nedumudi Venu plays other pivotal roles.
Osian's-Cinefan was one of Asia's leading film festivals devoted to Asian and Arab cinema, and was part of Osian's Film House Division. The festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in July 2008. After a two-year break, the 12th staging of the festival took place in July 2012. It has been discontinued since.
Cinemaya is a film magazine established in 1988 devoted exclusively to coverage of Asian film. It is published in New Delhi, India, and distributed internationally. The present editor-in-chief of Cinemaya is Aruna Vasudev, noted film journalist. Its goals are to promote Asian filmmaking internationally and to help Asian national cinemas gain wider international recognition.
Manjadikuru is a 2008 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by Anjali Menon. A shorter video version of the film was premiered at the 2008 International Film Festival of Kerala, and won the FIPRESCI Award for best Malayalam film and Hassankutty award for Best Debutant Indian director. In 2009, it received awards at the South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) at New York, winning five Grand Jury Awards - Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer and Best Emerging Talent.
Atayalangal is a 2008 Malayalam-language biographical drama film directed by M.G. Sasi and produced by Aravind Venugopal under the banner Valluvanadan Talkies. Govind Padmasoorya plays the lead role of autobiographical character of Nandanar (1926–1974), well known for his child literature and philosophical army stories. The film is particularly based on Nandanar's autobiography Anubhavangal.
Manish Jha is an Indian film writer and director, known for the film Matrubhoomi.
Ormakalundayirikkanam is a 1995 Indian Malayalam-language political drama film directed by T. V. Chandran. Starring Mammootty, Master Nithin, Bharath Gopi, Priyambada Ray, Nedumudi Venu, Kukku Parameswaran and Sreenivasan, the film portrays the rise of the Communists to power in 1957 and the infamous Vimochana Samaram of 1959.
Margam is an Indian film co-written, directed and produced by Rajiv Vijay Raghavan under the banner of Image commune. The film is an adaptation of Pithrutharppanam, the famous story by M. Sukumaran. Margam won seven major Kerala State Film Awards from the government of Kerala and one National Film Award from the government of India in 2003. One of the rarest Malayalam films that received wider critical acclaim at international level, Margam was exhibited at 16 international film festivals and won six international awards in categories including best film and scripting. The script was co-written by Rajiv Vijay Raghavan, Anvar Ali and Dr. S P Ramesh. Cinematography was by Venu and the roles performed by Nedumudi Venu and Meera Krishna were also widely appreciated.
Madhusudhanan is an Indian film maker and artist, also known as K. M. Madhusudhanan. His debut feature film, Bioscope has received many awards. He is working with different media in art, including sculpture, printmaking installation art and film.
Anjan Das was an internationally acclaimed National Awardwinning film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his contribution to Indian parallel cinema. His films were designated as 'poetry on celluloid', a descriptor used by the critics post his lyrical masterpiece 'Saanjhbatir Rupkathara'. His films won 11 BFJA awards and were regularly showcased at A-list film festivals like BFI London, Rotterdam, IFFI, Brisbane, etc.
Ajita Suchitra Veera is an Indian film director, writer, illustrator, photographer, and film producer. Veera is best known for a highly visual, grand, epic, cinematic style, with unconventional narrative structures breaking form, blending reality and imagination, fantasy, dreams, scientific, philosophical, metaphysical and humanistic ideas. Her upcoming feature film "Ballad of Rustom" was in Oscar contention for Best Picture 86th Academy Awards 2014. Her earlier short film "Notes on Her" was an official entry to the Oscars in 2003. Her First Feature Film "Ballad of Rustom" which she wrote, directed and produced and also did production design, collaborated on film editing, sound design and music, was described as a "powerful cinematographic poem, epic, and faustian" by The 61st International Film Festival Mannheim, Heidelberg, Germany.
M. J. Radhakrishnan was an Indian cinematographer working mainly in Malayalam films. He got National film award 2018 as best cinematographer for his work on Malayalam movie Oolu. He won Kerala State Award for Best Cinematography 7 times, equal with Mankada Ravi Varma. Earlier he worked as a still photographer and then as an associate to cinematographer turned director Shaji N. Karun. His important works included Deshadanam (1996), Karunam (1999) Naalu Pennungal (2007), Veettilekkulla Vazhi (2010) and Akasathinte Niram. His films were screened at several prominent film festivals around the world including Cannes, Shanghai, Cairo, Montreal, Telluride, Jeonju, Toronto, Chicago, Rhode Island and Rotterdam. One of his works, Marana Simhasanam, won Caméra d'Or in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Another film Veyilmarangal won Golden Goblet award for Outstanding Artistic achievement at Shanghai International Film Festival 2019. He worked on over 117 feature films and several documentaries and worked with some of the prominent Indian filmmakers including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Murali Nair, Shaji N. Karun, TV Chandran, Dr. Biju, Jayaraj and Renjith. He mostly worked on arthouse films and was known for his natural lighting styles. In a career spanning more than two decades, he worked with a number of young film makers, mostly in their maiden ventures. Film Kalamandalam Hyderali 2019, directed by Kiran G. Nath was his last completed work as director of photography.
Chandran Veyattummal (also known as Paris Chandran/ Paris V Chandran; 30 April 1956 – 22 May 2022) was born in a traditional musical family in Narikkuni, Kozhikode district of Kerala.
Santosh Ram is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer. He is widely known for his short films Vartul (2009), Galli (2015) and Prashna (2020), which have been awarded and screened at various National and international film festivals around the world. His debut short film Vartul which was screened at over 56 film National and international film festivals, winning thirteen awards. Prashna (Question) 2020 was shortlisted for Filmfare Short Film Awards 2020. Santosh Ram Won The Iris Award for Special Mention( Writing ) for Prashna at UNICEF Innocenti Film Festival 2021 in Florence, Italy.
