Shalini Ajith, also known as Baby Shalini, is an Indian former actress and child artist who predominantly worked in Malayalam and Tamil films. During the 80s, Shalini was the most successful child artist in both Malayalam and Tamil film industry and also in Telugu film industry. After taking a brief hiatus from child acting, Shalini made a come back in 1997 through Malayalam and Tamil language films as a lead heroine. She married popular Tamil actor Ajith Kumar, on April 24, 2000 and retired from films after her marriage.
Vanaprastham: The Last Dance is a 1999 Indo-French psychological drama period film in Malayalam-language that was directed by Shaji N. Karun. It was produced by Pierre Assouline and co-produced by Mohanlal. The screenplay was written by Karun and Raghunath Paleri based on a story by Assouline. It features Mohanlal in the lead role, with Suhasini Maniratnam, Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar, Kalamandalam Gopi, Venmani Haridas, and Kukku Parameshwaram in supporting roles. The film's music was composed by Zakir Hussain.
The International Film Festival of Kerala is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. The festival is held in November or December every year and is acknowledged as one of the leading cultural events in India.
Gayatri Das known professionally as Geetu Mohandas is an Indian actress and director known for her works in Malayalam cinema. In 2013, she directed the socio political film Liar's Dice which has received two National Film Awards, was premiered at Sundance Film Festival, and was chosen by the Government of India as India's entry for the U.S. 87th Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, but was not shortlisted or nominated.
Madhu Eravankara is a film director, film critic, film scholar,film jury, film teacher, and author. He was born in Eravankara in Alappuzha District, Kerala, India.
Joshy Mathew an Indian film director in Malayalam cinema, started his career in 1984 as an assistant to renowned director P. Padmarajan. In 1992 he made feature debut with Nakshatra Koodaram (1992). Then followed Oru Kadankatha Pole (1993), Rajadhani (1994), Man of the Match (1996), Pathaam Nilayile Theevandy (2009), Upadesiyude Makan (2010), Black Forest (2013), In a land far away (2018) and Nombarakoodu (2022)
Shyamaprasad is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor from Kerala.
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Director is an honour presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India since 1969. It is given to a film director who has exhibited outstanding direction while working in the Malayalam film industry. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala. Since 1998, the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous non-profit organisation functioning under the Department of Cultural Affairs, has been exercising control over the awards. The recipients are decided by an independent jury formed by the academy. They are declared by the Minister for Cultural Affairs and are presented by the Chief Minister.
Manjadikuru is a 2008 Malayalam 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.
Anjali Menon is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Anjali has won international, national and state awards for her work and is best known for her feature films Manjadikuru,Kerala Cafe(Happy Journey),Ustad Hotel, Bangalore Days, Koode and Wonder Women. She is counted among the change agents in Indian cinema whose work gets attention from the audience and the critics.
Babu Thiruvalla is an Indian film producer, director, and scriptwriter who works in Malayalam films. He produced films such as Oru Minnaminunginte Nurungu Vettam (1987) and Amaram (1991) under the banner Symphony Creations. Most of the films he produced got either State(Kerala) or National(India) award in some category. His first directorial venture 'Thaniyae' bagged more than 20 Awards including State Award and Indian Panorama.His directorial venture Thanichalla Njan (2012) won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. He was a Jury member for selecting Indian film for the Oscar award 2016. Latest venture in film field was with doing a segment for Crossroad in directorial role.jury member of IFFK 2019.
Salem Ahamed is an Indian film director, screen writer and producer. After working for a long time as a travel consultant, he joined as a creative director and script writer in a television channel. His directorial debut, Adaminte Makan Abu (2011), fetched him numerous accolades and was screened at various international film festivals. It was also chosen as India's official entry to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film category for the 84th Academy Awards. Then he made two movies Kunjananthante Kada (2013) and Pathemari (2015) with Mammootty as the lead. The latter won the Best Feature Film In Malayalam award at the 63rd National Film Awards. Salim's latest film is And the Oscar Goes To...(2019), which tells about his own experiences with production and marketing of his first film.
Ithramathram is a Malayalam film directed by K. Gopinathan from a screenplay adapted from Kalpatta Narayanan's novel of the same name. The film takes a closer look into the life of a 38-year-old woman living in a sleepy village in Wayanad, on her death, from the memories of a few persons who were part of her life. The film stars Biju Menon, Swetha Menon and Malavika in pivotal roles. The film was released on 14 September 2012 to mixed reviews. It won the FIPRESCI Award for Best Malayalam Film at the 17th International Film Festival of Kerala.
Oraalppokkam is a Malayalam film written and directed by Sanalkumar Sasidharan. It is the first Malayalam movie which has been produced through online crowdfunding program. This is an initiative of Kazhcha Chalachithra Vedi, a film society movement based in Thiruvananthapuram. Kazhcha has a history of producing short movies with the financial contribution from film lovers. Oraalppokkam is the fourth venture of Kazhcha. It is claimed that Oraalppokkam will be copyleft after 5 years from the date of release.
Sanal Kumar Sasidharan is an Indian poet, lawyer, and filmmaker.
Rajisha Vijayan is an Indian actress and former television presenter who primarily appears in Malayalam films, in addition to a few Tamil films. She is a recipient of Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress.
The 47th Kerala State Film Awards were announced by minister A. K. Balan in Thiruvananthapuram on 7 March 2017. The winners in the fiction category were selected by a jury headed by Odisha director A.K. Bir. The other jury members were Priyanandanan, Sundar Das, Sudevan, script writer P.F. Mathews, actress Shanti Krishna, composer and singer V.T. Murali, sound designer Arun Nambiar, critic Meena T. Pillai, and Kerala Chalachitra Academy secretary Mahesh Panju.
Vidhu Vincent is an Indian film director, writer, journalist and theatre activist from Kerala. She made her feature film debut with the Malayalam film Manhole, which won her that year's Kerala State Film Award for Best Director. At the 21st International Film Festival of Kerala, the film won two awards including the Best Debutant Director Award for Vincent.
Aedan: Garden of Desire is a 2017 Indian Malayalam film directed by Sanju Surendran. The film stars Abhilash Nair, George Kurian, Prasant, Nandini Sree, Sunny, Jojo George, and Dileep Kumar. Aedan is more of a folktale in its elemental qualities and evocation of eternal human passions. Following the tradition of Indian epic narration, the structure of the film is that of a story within a story. The stories attempt a microscopic examination of human nature. As the story courses through the frustrations of the characters, the idyllic landscape of a beautiful Kerala village takes on diabolic dimensions during night time.
Krishand RK, who also goes by the mononym Krishand, is an Indian filmmaker, director, screenwriter and cinematographer who works in the Malayalam film industry. He is a recipient of 69th National Film Award and two Kerala State Film Award and a Padmarajan Award for his film Aavasavyuham.
