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, India. In 1982, Elippathayam won the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival, and Most Original Imaginative Film of 1982 by the British Film Institute. The film Marana Simhasanam has won the prestigious Caméra d'Or at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.
Kulakkattil Geevarghese George was an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter who worked in the Malayalam cinema. He was the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Bharathan and P. Padmarajan, in the 1980s. He was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, Government of Kerala's highest honour for contributions to the Malayalam cinema.
John Abraham was an Indian filmmaker, short story writer and screenwriter who worked mainly in Malayalam cinema. His film Amma Ariyan (1986) was the only South Indian feature film to make the list of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time by British Film Institute. Agraharathil Kazhuthai was listed among the "100 Greatest Indian Films" of all time by IBN Live's 2013 poll.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film Swayamvaram (1972), Gopalakrishnan pioneered the new wave in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s. In a career spanning over five decades, Gopalakrishnan has made only 12 feature films to date. His films are made in the Malayalam language and often depict the society and culture of his native state Kerala. Nearly all of his films premiered at Venice, Cannes and Toronto International Film Festival. Along with Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, Gopalakrishnan is one of the most recognized Indian film directors in world cinema.
Hariharan is an Indian film director who has directed over 50 Malayalam films. His movies mainly revolve around the cultural and relational aspects of a typical Keralite society. His most notable works include Sharapancharam (1979), Panchagni (1986), Idavazhiyile Poocha Mindappoocha (1979), Amrutham Gamaya (1987), Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), Sargam (1992), Parinayam (1994) and Pazhassi Raja (2009) which has won him wide critical acclaim. In 2019, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Govindan Aravindan was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmmaking; he changed his cinematic forms consistently and experimented in storytelling without regular narrative styles.
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.
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.
Thazhathupurakkal Karunakara Panicker Rajeev Kumar is a National Award-winning Indian director of Malayalam films, from Trivandrum. He is the winner of five Kerala State Film Awards for Best Film, Director, Story Writer & Script Writer, a show director, theatre actor and percussionist (Mridangam). He is a founding member and leader of the musical band Blue Birds in 1980 and Super Mimics, a comedy show in 1979. He is also the Kerala University winner of Mono Act in the University Youth Festivals 1980–1982 and Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy winner for Mono Act 1979–1982.
Venkiteswaran Chittur Subramanian is an Indian film critic, professor, documentary filmmaker, writer and occasional subtitler from Chalakudi, Kerala, India, who writes predominantly in English and Malayalam. He won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2009 and shared the National Film Award for Best Arts/Cultural Film with M.R. Rajan for directing the documentary film, Pakarnattam in 1995.
Celluloid is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language biographical film co-produced, written and directed by Kamal, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, Sreenivasan, Mamta Mohandas and Chandni in the lead roles. The film is a biopic based on the life story of J.C. Daniel, the father of Malayalam cinema, the making of his film Vigathakumaran and the story of Vigathakumaran's heroine P. K. Rosie. The film is particularly based on Life of J. C. Daniel, a biography of J. C. Daniel written by Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan. Filming started in November 2012. The film's online posters were done by a 16-year-old boy Aswin which was viral in social medias. and it was released in February 2013. The film opened with positive reviews and received seven Kerala State Film Awards including for Best Film and Best Actor (Prithviraj). The movie received many awards and much appreciation with the support of All Lights Film Services (ALFS), a leading film festival consultancy. The film was a blockbuster at the box office.
Sajitha Madathil is an Indian film and theatre actor. Her performance in Joy Mathew's feature film Shutter (2012) won her the Kerala State film award for second best actress. She is the head of the department of Acting at the K. R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts (KRNNIVSA), an autonomous institute established by the Government of Kerala. She had been the Deputy Secretary of the Sangeet Natak Akademi New Delhi(Academy of Music and Dance, India), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. She appeared in the feature films Shutter in 2012, in Adimadhyantham in 2011, and in Shalini Usha Nair's feature film Akam in 2011.
K. Ravindranathan Nair , also known as Achani Ravi or General Pictures Ravi, was an Indian film producer of Malayalam films, industrialist and philanthropist. He was known for a number of critically acclaimed films he produced, such as Kanchana Sita, Thampu, Kummatty, Esthappan, Pokkuveyil, Elippathayam, Manju, Mukhamukham, Anantaram and Vidheyan. Nair was credited with fostering the art film movement in Malayalam cinema during the period from the 1970s to the 1990s. A multiple recipient of National and State film awards, Nair was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award by the Government of Kerala, in 2008, for his contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Sanal Kumar Sasidharan is an Indian poet, lawyer, and filmmaker.
Anwar Ali, also known Anvar Ali, is an Indian poet and lyricist writing in Malayalam. He is also a literary editor and critic, translator, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker.
Vannadil Puthiyaveettil "V. P." Krishnakumar is a sound engineer, editor and recordist known mostly for his works in Malayalam films, documentaries and TV series. He has worked with acclaimed film directors including G. Aravindan, Padmarajan, T. V. Chandran and K. P. Kumaran. He specializes in Sync sound—for many of his notable works, audio was recorded live. He has also worked on foreign projects, including a documentary with German documentary filmmaker and director Andreas Voigt. After long stints with Kerala State Film Development Corporation's Chitranjali Studio and Kalabhavan Digital Studios in Thiruvananthapuram, and Kochi, he heads the Department of Sound Recording at Chitranjali Studio, Thiruvananthapuram.
John Sankaramangalam was an Indian filmmaker and former director of the FTII, Pune. He has also served the positions of vice-chairman of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, principal of St. Joseph College of Communication and as a jury member of the International Film Festival of India. He was an executive member of CILECT.
Don Palathara is a film director, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker from Kerala, India. Known for working on small budgets, his films are expositions of local Kerala culture and study on the human nature. Palathara's films have gained accolades at several international film festivals, including Moscow International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam and International Film Festival of Kerala.
Rathish Ambat is an Indian film director, adfilm director, and producer who works predominantly in the Malayalam film industry. He is well known for his debut film Kammara Sambhavam which was released on 14 April 2018. Over the past twenty years, he has contributed to various roles in the film and advertising industries in Kerala. He has directed advertising films in several languages, such as Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi.
S. Sunil is an Indian filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter and an academic, who works in Malayalam cinema and theatre. He is known for such films as Kaliyorukkam, Marubhagham and Vishudha Rathrikal as well as theatre productions like Kandamrugam, a drama based on Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros. He is a recipient of the 2008 Kerala State Film Award for Best Children's Film.
