Lijo Jose Pellissery | |
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Born | |
Other names | LJP |
Education |
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Occupations |
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Years active | 2010–present |
Spouse | Jasmine James |
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Lijo Jose Pellissery (born 18 September 1978) is an Indian filmmaker and actor who works in Malayalam cinema. His best works include Amen (2013), Angamaly Diaries (2017), [1] Ee.Ma.Yau. (2018), Jallikattu (2019), Churuli (2021), and Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam (2023). [2] [3]
Pellissery is a recipient of the Best Director Award at the 48th Kerala State Film Awards for Ee.Ma.Yau. , Best Director Award at the 50th Kerala State Film Awards for Jallikattu , Best Film Award at the 44th Kerala Film Critics Association Awards for Jallikattu and twice recipient of Silver Peacock-Best Director at the 49th International Film Festival of India and 50th International Film Festival of India for his films Ee.Ma.Yau. and Jallikattu respectively. [4] He also received the Silver Crow Pheasant Award at the International Film Festival of Kerala 2018. [5]
Pellissery made his debut in 2010 with the crime film Nayakan and followed it up with the crime-drama City of God (2011) and the black comedy satire Amen (2013), the last mentioned, a commercial success at the Kerala box office. His fourth film, Double Barrel , an experimental film received only mixed reviews. His fifth film was again a crime-gangster film Angamaly Diaries (2017), starring almost 90 new actors, which preceded Ee.Ma.Yau., released in 2018. His movie Jallikkattu premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2020, Jallikkattu was selected as India's official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards.
Pellissery was born on 18 September 1978 in Chalakudy in Thrissur district of the south Indian state of Kerala to Lilly and Jose Pellissery, a known film and theatre actor and a winner of a state award for best stage actor. [6] [7] His schooling was at Carmel Higher Secondary School, Chalakudy and, after graduating from the Union Christian College, Aluva, he earned a master's degree in business administration from the Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Bangalore. [8] [9] [10]
By the time Lijo Pellissery was born, Jose Pellissery who co-owned a theatre group by Sarathy Theatres, [7] was active in Malayalam films and this gave the young Lijo an early grounding in films. [11] His career started as an assistant to Manoj Pillai, an ad filmmaker, and Pellissery soon started making short films of his own. One of his films, 3, was one of three films shortlisted for the best film award at the PIX Short Film Festival 2007. [12] He debuted as a feature film director in 2010 with Nayakan , which narrated the story of a Kathakali artist who joined the underworld to take revenge on those who killed his family. Though the film was critically acclaimed, it failed at the box office. [13] [14] [15] [16] His next venture, City of God , one of the early New Generation films of Malayalam cinema [17] and a multi-starrer featuring Indrajith Sukumaran, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Parvathy, Swetha Menon and Rima Kallingal used hyperlink cinema as its narrative structure and was a critical success [18] but, again failed miserably at the box office; it was pulled from cinemas just days after its release. [19]
It took another two years before he came up with his third movie, Amen , in 2013, which had Indrajith Sukumaran, Fahad Fasil, Swathi Reddy and Kalabhavan Mani in the lead roles and the movie succeeded at the box office while drawing good critical response. [20] [21] After a gap of almost two years, Pellissery released his fourth film, Double Barrel , a comic thriller, with Prithviraj Sukumaran, Indrajith Sukumaran, Arya, Sunny Wayne and Asif Ali in the lead roles. However, the film did not succeed critically or commercially. [22] The next project, Angamaly Diaries , a black comedy cloaked in a gangster plot that revolves around the locale of Angamaly, was scripted by popular actor, Chemban Vinod Jose. [23] The film, made on a small budget of ₹30 million, [24] was received well at the box office and drew critical acclaim; Anurag Kashyap opined that Angamaly Diaries was his film of the year. [25] [26] Ee.Ma.Yau. , his next film based on a satire written by P. F. Mathews [27] and with his regular composer, Prashant Pillai, scoring the music, [28] was premiered on 30 November 2017 [29] but the release was delayed due to undisclosed reasons. [30] Before it was released on 4 May 2018, the film received the Kerala State Film Award for Best Director at the 48th Kerala State Film Awards. [4] The film also won him the Silver Peacock Award for the best director at the 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), 2018, which was held in Goa in November 2018 [31] (Chemban Vinod Jose, the protagonist of the film, also received the Silver Peacock Award for the best actor. [32] ) followed by the Sinema Zetu International Film Festival Award for Best Direction. [33]
Pellissery often uses non-linear style of narrative and long takes. [17] His early films had established actors in the lead roles but, Angamaly Diaries marked a change where almost the entire cast were newcomers with 86 new actors making their debut, and subsequently accomplishing a triumph in the form of a 11-minute uninterrupted long take in the climax. [34] [35] Following the similar technique, Jallikattu has at least 6 long takes and have brought in over thousand extras for the climax sequence. [36]
Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
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Director | Producer | Acting Roles | |||
2010 | Nayakan | Yes | No | Steve | |
2011 | City of God | Yes | No | No | |
2011 | Bombay March 12 | No | No | Terrorist | |
2013 | Amen | Yes | No | No | |
2014 | Sapthamashree Thaskaraha | No | No | Priest | |
2015 | Double Barrel | Yes | Co-producer | No | Co-produced with August Cinema; Also writer |
2016 | Aakashvani | No | No | Thomas Kuruvila | |
2016 | Darvinte Parinamam | No | No | Himself | |
2017 | Angamaly Diaries | Yes | No | No | |
2017 | Oru Cinemakkaran | No | No | Himself | |
2017 | Mayaanadhi | No | No | Director Len Prasad | |
2018 | Ee.Ma.Yau. | Yes | No | No | |
2018 | Swathanthryam Ardharathriyil | No | Co-producer | Lawyer Tony Mattathil | Co-produced with BC Joshi and Chemban Vinod Jose |
2018 | Padayottam | No | No | Gangster Britto | |
2019 | Jallikkattu | Yes | Co-producer | No | Co-produced with O.Thomas Panicker and Chemban Vinod Jose |
2019 | Thamaasha | No | Co-producer | No | Co-produced with Sameer Thahir, Shyju Khalid and Chemban Vinod Jose |
2021 | Churuli | Yes | Co-producer | No | Co-produced with O.Thomas Panicker and Chemban Vinod Jose |
2023 | Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam | Yes | Co-producer | No | Co-produced with Mammootty |
2024 | Malaikottai Vaaliban | Yes | Co-producer | No | [37] |
Year | Award | Venue | Film |
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2013 | Best Director | Asianet Film Awards | Amen |
2017 | Kerala State Film Award for Best Director | 48th Kerala State Film Awards | Ee.Ma.Yau. |
2017 | Best Director | Cinema Paradiso Club Award | Angamaly Diaries |
2018 | Silver Peacock Award for Best Director | 49th International Film Festival of India | Ee.Ma.Yau. |
2018 | Silver Crow Pheasant Award for the Best Director | International Film Festival of Kerala | Ee.Ma.Yau. |
2018 | Filmfare Award for Best Director – Malayalam | Filmfare Awards South | Ee.Ma.Yau. |
2019 | Silver Peacock Award for Best Director | 50th International Film Festival of India | Jallikattu [38] |
Best Director (special mention) | International Film Festival of Kerala | Jallikattu | |
Best Director | Sinema Zetu International Film Festival Award SZIFF | Ee.Ma.Yau. | |
Kerala State Film Award for Best Director | 50th Kerala State Film Awards | Jallikattu | |
2023 | Kerala State Film Award for Best Film | 53rd Kerala State Film Awards | Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam |
Indrajith Sukumaran is an Indian actor and singer. He predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Indrajith was born to the actors Sukumaran and Mallika Sukumaran and is the elder brother of actor Prithviraj Sukumaran.
Vinayakan is an Indian actor, former dancer, and composer who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil language films. He started his career with a cameo appearance in the 1995 film Maanthrikam.
Prashant Pillai is a music producer and composer from India.
Renganaath Ravee is an Indian sound designer, sound editor and documentary filmmaker.
Amen is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and written by P. S. Rafeeque from a story by Pellissery. The film revolves around the events that happen in a picturesque Kuttanadan village following the arrival of a young priest and a star-crossed lovers. The film stars Fahadh Faasil, Indrajith Sukumaran, Kalabhavan Mani, and Swathi Reddy. The film's songs and background score was composed by Prashant Pillai.
Poovankery Francis Mathews is an Indian author of Malayalam literature and a screenplay writer in Malayalam film and Television industries. A Winner of a National Film Award for Best Screenplay and multiple State television and other literary awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story, he is known for his original style of writing. Literary works such as Muzhakkam, Kadalinte Manam, Adiyalapretham, Iruttil Oru Punyalan, and Chaavunilam and screenplays such as Sararaanthal, Mikhayelinte Santhathikal, Megham, Kutty Srank and Ee.Ma.Yau are his major works.
Girish GangadharanISC is an Indian cinematographer known for his work in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is the recipient of the National Film Award for Best Cinematography for his work in the 2019 film Jallikkattu directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, which was India's official entry to that year's Oscars. Additionally, he has also worked on Tamil-language blockbusters like Sarkar and Vikram.
P. S. Rafeeque is an Indian short story writer, screenwriter and lyricist from Kerala. He made his film debut by screenwriting Nayakan (2010). His breakthrough film was Amen (2013). In literature his notable works are Saddam's Barber, Kaduva, Amen (screenplay), Ummoommamapalam Kadanna Eppi. He also wrote the screenplays for the films Raja of Utyopya, Thrissivaperur Kliptham, Thottappan and Malaikottai vaaliban.
Chemban Vinod Jose is an Indian actor, film producer and screenwriter, who predominantly works in Malayalam films. He is a physiotherapist by profession. He is an established character actor and has appeared in over 50 films, mostly in comedic roles.
Friday Film House is an Indian film production company based in Malayalam film industry owned by Vijay Babu who is an actor as well as a producer and is one of the most talked about production houses in the south. Friday Film House has won 7 of the Kerala State Film Awards in various fields in 2014. It has its own distribution division – "Friday Tickets", digital/TV production under the brand "Friday Home Cinema" and music under "Friday Music Company". Notable projects include Aadu series, Angamaly Diaries, Philips and the Monkey Pen, June, Adi Kapyare Kootamani, Thrissur Pooram and Home.
Angamaly Diaries is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language epic crime film directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and written by Chemban Vinod Jose. The film features 86 debutant actors with Antony Varghese, Anna Rajan, Appani Sarath, Kichu Tellus, Ullas Chemban, Vineeth Vishwam, Bitto Davis, Tito Wilson and Sinoj Varghese playing the main roles. It marks Vijay Babu's first production under Friday Film House. The film features an uncut 11-minute long take in the climax featuring around 1000 artists.
Anna Reshma Rajan is an Indian actress who appears in Supporting Actress roles in Malayalam films.
Antony Varghese, also known by his screen name Pepe is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He made his debut in 2017 through the film Angamaly Diaries.
Ee.Ma.Yau. is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language independent tragedy film directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and written by P. F. Mathews. It stars Vinayakan, Chemban Vinod Jose, Pauly Valsan, Bitto Davis, Kainakary Thankaraj, Dileesh Pothan and Arya Salim in the main roles. The film had its premiere on 30 November 2017 and was theatrically released on 4 May 2018. The film revolves around the death and funeral of an older man from the Latin Catholic community in Chellanam, Ernakulam district. Lijo Jose Pellissery won the Best Director Award at the 48th Kerala State Film Awards for Ee.Ma.Yau. The film won the Silver Peacock-Best Director and Best Actor awards at the 49th International Film Festival of India. It also won two awards at the International Film Festival of Kerala viz. the NETPAC Award for Best Asian film in Competition and the Golden Crow Pheasant Award for the best director. It was included in The Hindu's top 25 Malayalam films of the decade and is widely regarded as one of the defining movies of the New Wave Movement.
Tito Wilson is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He made his debut in the 2017 film Angamaly Diaries in which he played the role of U-Clamp Rajan.
The 49th International Film Festival of India was a film festival held from 20 to 28 November 2018 in Goa. In the 49th event new sections such as "Sketch on Screen ", "A Retrospective of Masters" are inculcated. 212 films were being showcased during the event, with Israel being the country of focus.
Pauly Valsan is an Indian actress who has been acclaimed for acting in Malayalam films and plays. She debuted in Malayalam film industry with the supporting roles in the 2008 movie Annan Thambi In 2017, she won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Character Actress for her performance in Ee.Ma.Yau directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and Ottamuri Velicham directed by Rahul Riji Nair.In 2022, she won Kerala State Film Award for Best Dubbing Artist.
Jallikattu is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language independent action thriller film directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery with a screenplay by S. Hareesh and R. Jayakumar, based on the short story Maoist by Hareesh. The film stars Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabumon Abdusamad and Santhy Balachandran. In the film, a bull escapes from a slaughterhouse in a hilly remote village and the villagers sets out to hunt it down.
A.V. Gokuldas is a production designer in the Indian film industry. He has won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Production Design four times.
Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-Tamil bilingual drama film directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and written by S. Hareesh. It is produced by Mammootty Kampany & Amen Movie Monastery. The film stars Mammootty, Ramya Suvi, Ramya Pandian and Ashokan.