Two families mobilize their forces in a colorful Ape (the marketing department of Piaggio will be pleased to see an impressive number of people comfortably travelling in it) and a tagging motorcycle to make sure that “the adamant” 21-year-old Meena (Anna Ben) gets purified at a holy site, and additionally exorcized by a seer to change her refusal to marry the impertinent, larger than life and physically abusive Pandi (Tamil film industry superstar Soori Muthuchamy). The arranged marriage has to take place at any cost, but Meena does not react to any of threats or attempts at conversation. She is dealing with all that hullabaloo with stubborn silence and passive participation in spiritual rituals she is dragged to like a sack of green potatoes.
The Adamant Girl is screening at Berlin International Film Festival
“The Adamant Girl”, P.S.Vinothraj's bitter drama sprinkled with dark humor, is the first film...
The Adamant Girl is screening at Berlin International Film Festival
“The Adamant Girl”, P.S.Vinothraj's bitter drama sprinkled with dark humor, is the first film...
- 2/20/2024
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Farcical and viscerally upsetting in equal measure, P.S. Vinothraj’s “The Adamant Girl” masterfully exposes the nature of superstition by zeroing in on gendered expectations. A story of a betrothed woman being shepherded by her fiancé’s family between sites of religious ritual, the rural Tamil-language drama plays like an extension of “Pebbles,” Vinothraj’s remarkable 2021 debut in which an abusive, alcoholic husband and his young son traverse a harsh terrain on foot to retrieve his fleeing wife. This time, the men have cars and motorcycles, while the woman has little recourse but to silently bear the brunt of their beliefs, in a movie that makes deft use of the dynamic between bodies and their environments.
Vinothraj sets the stage by following his characters in lengthy, unbroken shots, observing their movement — or lack thereof, in some cases. He creates a sense of mood and texture around them even before they...
Vinothraj sets the stage by following his characters in lengthy, unbroken shots, observing their movement — or lack thereof, in some cases. He creates a sense of mood and texture around them even before they...
- 2/18/2024
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin Film Festival has just three Indian narrative fiction features in the 2024 lineup, but all of them are sophomore efforts by filmmakers who have already won global acclaim for their debuts.
Raam Reddy burst onto the international scene with “Thithi” (“Funeral”), which won the Golden Leopard — Filmmakers of the Present and the First Feature awards at Locarno in 2015. Reddy’s ”The Fable,” which screens in Berlin’s Encounters strand, follows a happy family who live as owners of a vast Himalayan orchard, until a series of mysterious fires bring into question who they really are. The cast includes Manoj Bajpayee, Priyanka Bose, Deepak Dobriyal, Tillotama Shome and Hiral Sidhu.
P.S. Vinothraj won Rotterdam’s top award, the Tiger, for “Koozhangal” (“Pebbles”) in 2021. Vinothraj’s “Kottukkaali” (“The Adamant Girl”), screening in Berlin’s Forum strand, follows a young woman who is in love with a man from one of India...
Raam Reddy burst onto the international scene with “Thithi” (“Funeral”), which won the Golden Leopard — Filmmakers of the Present and the First Feature awards at Locarno in 2015. Reddy’s ”The Fable,” which screens in Berlin’s Encounters strand, follows a happy family who live as owners of a vast Himalayan orchard, until a series of mysterious fires bring into question who they really are. The cast includes Manoj Bajpayee, Priyanka Bose, Deepak Dobriyal, Tillotama Shome and Hiral Sidhu.
P.S. Vinothraj won Rotterdam’s top award, the Tiger, for “Koozhangal” (“Pebbles”) in 2021. Vinothraj’s “Kottukkaali” (“The Adamant Girl”), screening in Berlin’s Forum strand, follows a young woman who is in love with a man from one of India...
- 2/17/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Argentinian director Lola Arias will world premiere her musical documentary Reas about trans people in prison.
The world premiere of Argentinian director Lola Arias’s musical documentary Reas is one of the first eight titles of the 2024 Berlinale Forum unveiled today.
Arias’ second feature explores cis and trans people living in a Buenos Aires prison through musical re-enactment. The filmmaker’s debut Prisoner Of War also premiered in Berlinale Forum where it picked up the Ciace award as well as screening at SXSW, London, Jerusalem and San Sebastian.
Also world premiering in Berlinale’s sidebar is Vinothraj Ps’s The...
The world premiere of Argentinian director Lola Arias’s musical documentary Reas is one of the first eight titles of the 2024 Berlinale Forum unveiled today.
Arias’ second feature explores cis and trans people living in a Buenos Aires prison through musical re-enactment. The filmmaker’s debut Prisoner Of War also premiered in Berlinale Forum where it picked up the Ciace award as well as screening at SXSW, London, Jerusalem and San Sebastian.
Also world premiering in Berlinale’s sidebar is Vinothraj Ps’s The...
- 12/13/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
The last week of October will be a treat for the audience as the streaming platforms are set to release exciting titles ranging from spicy chat show to horror drama. From the new season of filmmaker Karan Johar’s celebrity chat show ‘Koffee with Karan’ to Kangana Ranaut starrer ‘Chandramukhi 2’, here is a list of five titles on various Ott platforms that have caught the attention of Ians this week.
‘Koffee with Karan’ Season 8
The spiciest talk show ‘Koffee with Karan’ is returning for its eighth season with a heady mix of dopamine induced coffee and lots of well — Karan being Karan.
This time around, the chat will be edgier, crazier and candid leading to a whole lot of revelations. This season, the conversation will be beyond marriages, airport looks, social media and toodles. The first episode will feature star-couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.
It is set to...
‘Koffee with Karan’ Season 8
The spiciest talk show ‘Koffee with Karan’ is returning for its eighth season with a heady mix of dopamine induced coffee and lots of well — Karan being Karan.
This time around, the chat will be edgier, crazier and candid leading to a whole lot of revelations. This season, the conversation will be beyond marriages, airport looks, social media and toodles. The first episode will feature star-couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.
It is set to...
- 10/26/2023
- by Agency News Desk
The last week of October will be a treat for the audience as the streaming platforms are set to release exciting titles ranging from spicy chat show to horror drama. From the new season of filmmaker Karan Johar’s celebrity chat show ‘Koffee with Karan’ to Kangana Ranaut starrer ‘Chandramukhi 2’, here is a list of five titles on various Ott platforms that have caught the attention of Ians this week.
‘Koffee with Karan’ Season 8
The spiciest talk show ‘Koffee with Karan’ is returning for its eighth season with a heady mix of dopamine induced coffee and lots of well — Karan being Karan.
This time around, the chat will be edgier, crazier and candid leading to a whole lot of revelations. This season, the conversation will be beyond marriages, airport looks, social media and toodles. The first episode will feature star-couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.
It is set to...
‘Koffee with Karan’ Season 8
The spiciest talk show ‘Koffee with Karan’ is returning for its eighth season with a heady mix of dopamine induced coffee and lots of well — Karan being Karan.
This time around, the chat will be edgier, crazier and candid leading to a whole lot of revelations. This season, the conversation will be beyond marriages, airport looks, social media and toodles. The first episode will feature star-couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.
It is set to...
- 10/26/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Pebbles (Tamil: Koozhangal) is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by debutant Ps Vinothraj. The film was produced by Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara under the Rowdy Pictures banner. Featuring music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, the film had cinematography handled by Jeya Parthipan and Vignesh Kumulai and was edited by Ganesh Siva1
The film tells the story of a father and son who embark on a journey to bring back the mother who had left them due to domestic violence. The film is set in two arid hamlets separated by a distance of 13 kilometers from the down South of Tamil Nadu, where the land and human emotions lay brazenly palpable in the scorching heat12
Pebbles Trailer
The film is based on a real incident of director Vinothraj’s family which inspired him to direct the film. He spent a lot of time looking for an arid landscape, which was required...
The film tells the story of a father and son who embark on a journey to bring back the mother who had left them due to domestic violence. The film is set in two arid hamlets separated by a distance of 13 kilometers from the down South of Tamil Nadu, where the land and human emotions lay brazenly palpable in the scorching heat12
Pebbles Trailer
The film is based on a real incident of director Vinothraj’s family which inspired him to direct the film. He spent a lot of time looking for an arid landscape, which was required...
- 10/19/2023
- by CineArticles Editorial Team
- https://thecinemanews.online/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_4649
A movie with the action sensibilities of James Cameron and the ambitious scope of George Miller has to be considered a definitive Oscar contender, right? Not without the proper backing by a studio or, in this case, a country that will submit your film for the Academy’s best international feature award.
Enter “Rrr,” a film directed by S. S. Rajamouli, who wrote the script with V. Vijayendra Prasad. The three-hour action epic follows two patriotic but philosophically opposed men (Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr.), who team up to rescue a girl from British colonial officials in 1920s Delhi.
When the 94th Oscar nominations were announced back in January 2022, India’s official submission “Pebbles” was not among the films recognized for international feature. It marked exactly 20 years since India’s last nom in the category.
In fact, only three Indian films in total —”Mother India” (1957), “Salaam Bombay!” (1988) and...
Enter “Rrr,” a film directed by S. S. Rajamouli, who wrote the script with V. Vijayendra Prasad. The three-hour action epic follows two patriotic but philosophically opposed men (Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr.), who team up to rescue a girl from British colonial officials in 1920s Delhi.
When the 94th Oscar nominations were announced back in January 2022, India’s official submission “Pebbles” was not among the films recognized for international feature. It marked exactly 20 years since India’s last nom in the category.
In fact, only three Indian films in total —”Mother India” (1957), “Salaam Bombay!” (1988) and...
- 8/17/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The 37th Annual Independent Spirit Awards took place on Sunday, returning to an in-person format following last year’s virtual ceremony. Many of the biggest names in the independent film community made the trek out to the beach in Santa Monica with the hopes of taking home the most coveted prizes in indie film. While the Spirit Awards typically take place the week before the Oscars, this year’s unique Covid-influenced awards season calendar meant that they were held nearly a month in advance. Hollywood couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally served as emcees of the proceedings.
This year’s class of nominees draws from films largely shut out from the Oscars, with indie hits like Oscar nominee “The Lost Daughter,” “C’mon C’mon,” and “Zola” racking up the most nominations. “The Lost Daughter” cleaned up, with three wins for Netflix including Best Feature and Best Director Maggie Gyllenhaal. Oscar no-show...
This year’s class of nominees draws from films largely shut out from the Oscars, with indie hits like Oscar nominee “The Lost Daughter,” “C’mon C’mon,” and “Zola” racking up the most nominations. “The Lost Daughter” cleaned up, with three wins for Netflix including Best Feature and Best Director Maggie Gyllenhaal. Oscar no-show...
- 3/7/2022
- by Christian Zilko and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Three awards ceremonies are taking place the weekend of March 5. On Saturday, a double dose of the Art Directors Guild (Adg) and American Cinema Editors Awards (Ace Eddies), and on Sunday, the Film Independent Spirit Awards, airing on IFC.
Paying special attention to Adg and Ace Eddies since there’s Oscar crossover, we’re expecting a couple of surprises at both. On the Adg side, “Dune” and “Nightmare Alley” should reign triumphant, but “Don’t Look Up” may overcome fellow Netflix property “The Lost Daughter.”
At Ace Eddies, there’s a possible upset on the drama side in the favor of “King Richard’s” Pamela Martin, besting Joe Walker for “Dune.” On the other hand, “Tick, Tick … Boom!” is expected to sneak past “Licorice Pizza.”
What’s most interesting is that there is very little to no presence of the presumed Oscar frontrunners this weekend, including Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,...
Paying special attention to Adg and Ace Eddies since there’s Oscar crossover, we’re expecting a couple of surprises at both. On the Adg side, “Dune” and “Nightmare Alley” should reign triumphant, but “Don’t Look Up” may overcome fellow Netflix property “The Lost Daughter.”
At Ace Eddies, there’s a possible upset on the drama side in the favor of “King Richard’s” Pamela Martin, besting Joe Walker for “Dune.” On the other hand, “Tick, Tick … Boom!” is expected to sneak past “Licorice Pizza.”
What’s most interesting is that there is very little to no presence of the presumed Oscar frontrunners this weekend, including Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,...
- 3/5/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Almost 2,000 Gold Derby readers have made their Indie Spirit predictions in advance of Sunday’s ceremony. Scroll down to see our official odds in all 13 movie categories based on those combined predictions. Our projected winners are highlighted in gold.
SEEOscars 2022: 20 movie reunions we would love to see happen on the ceremony, including ‘The Godfather,’ ‘Titanic,’ ‘Harry Potter’ and more
The Indie Spirit Awards winners are voted on by members of Film Independent. Membership is open to any movie fans who pay $95 in yearly dues, which often leads to the highest-profile Oscar contenders winning top prizes against less widely publicized films. But this year Film Independent snubbed many of the Oscar front-runners; this is only the second time in the last 13 years that there are no Best Picture Oscar nominees among the Spirit contenders for Best Feature.
The black comedy “Zola” led the nominations with seven including Best Feature, Best...
SEEOscars 2022: 20 movie reunions we would love to see happen on the ceremony, including ‘The Godfather,’ ‘Titanic,’ ‘Harry Potter’ and more
The Indie Spirit Awards winners are voted on by members of Film Independent. Membership is open to any movie fans who pay $95 in yearly dues, which often leads to the highest-profile Oscar contenders winning top prizes against less widely publicized films. But this year Film Independent snubbed many of the Oscar front-runners; this is only the second time in the last 13 years that there are no Best Picture Oscar nominees among the Spirit contenders for Best Feature.
The black comedy “Zola” led the nominations with seven including Best Feature, Best...
- 3/4/2022
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is informing film and television works around the world and Malayalam-language film “Hawk’s Muffin” (“Prappeda”) – selected in this week’s International Film Festival Rotterdam – uses it as a starting point, and adds elements of war to tell a surreal tale set in a dystopian future.
After his plane drops an atomic bomb, a pilot is ordered into hiding by his commanders. The location is an isolated estate where his life intertwines with his daughter, granddaughter, a bodyguard, a priest and a policeman. Things get complicated when the granddaughter befriends a stranger.
“Hawk’s Muffin” is the feature debut of Krishnendu Kalesh, known for his 2017 short satirical noir thriller “Black Beast” (“Karinchathan”), a response to the Charlie Hebdo attack.
“The pandemic is used only as an opportunity to start off a story of century-long conspiracy in the film. I conceived the pandemic period as an occasion...
After his plane drops an atomic bomb, a pilot is ordered into hiding by his commanders. The location is an isolated estate where his life intertwines with his daughter, granddaughter, a bodyguard, a priest and a policeman. Things get complicated when the granddaughter befriends a stranger.
“Hawk’s Muffin” is the feature debut of Krishnendu Kalesh, known for his 2017 short satirical noir thriller “Black Beast” (“Karinchathan”), a response to the Charlie Hebdo attack.
“The pandemic is used only as an opportunity to start off a story of century-long conspiracy in the film. I conceived the pandemic period as an occasion...
- 1/25/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has unveiled the 14 films selected for its flagship Tiger Competition. Scroll down for the full list.
The selection is typically globe-trotting, with features ranging from Chile to China, Sweden to Israel, and Mexico to India. A jury will grant three prizes: the Tiger Award, plus two special jury awards. On the jury are: Zsuzsi Bánkuti, Gust Van den Berghe, Tatiana Leite, Thekla Reuten and Farid Tabarki.
Last year’s winner of IFFR’s Tiger competition was Indian filmmaker Vinothraj P.S.’s Pebbles, which was the country’s contender for this year’s International Oscar race, though didn’t make the shortlist.
Today, the festival also confirmed the line-ups for its Big Screen Competition, which aims to bridge the gap between popular and arthouse cinema. Titles selected range from Romania to France and South Africa. The Tiger Short Competition was also unveiled.
The selection is typically globe-trotting, with features ranging from Chile to China, Sweden to Israel, and Mexico to India. A jury will grant three prizes: the Tiger Award, plus two special jury awards. On the jury are: Zsuzsi Bánkuti, Gust Van den Berghe, Tatiana Leite, Thekla Reuten and Farid Tabarki.
Last year’s winner of IFFR’s Tiger competition was Indian filmmaker Vinothraj P.S.’s Pebbles, which was the country’s contender for this year’s International Oscar race, though didn’t make the shortlist.
Today, the festival also confirmed the line-ups for its Big Screen Competition, which aims to bridge the gap between popular and arthouse cinema. Titles selected range from Romania to France and South Africa. The Tiger Short Competition was also unveiled.
- 1/7/2022
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Revisiting last year's introduction when putting together 2021's favorites, it is with a shock to realize how little has changed in the wildly disrupted world of cinema under the shroud of the pandemic. The urge to copy-and-paste the whole shebang is quite tempting indeed.What can we say about this year, 2021? We got a little more used to long-term instability. Cinemas and festivals re-opened, only for some to close again. We, like many, ventured carefully out into the world to finally see films again with audiences, all kinds: nervous ones, uproarious ones, spartan ones, and delighted ones. It was an experience both anxious and joyous. We also doubled down on the challenges, but also the pleasures, of home viewing: of virtual cinemas and virtual festivals, of straight to streaming premieres, of trying to capture a social joy in semi-isolation by connecting with others over experiences shared and disparate.The long...
- 12/27/2021
- MUBI
Vignesh Shivan, who along with actress Nayanthara, is the producer of ‘Pebbles’ – India’s official entry to the Oscars – is hoping that his film will be able to end India’s 20-year wait and manage to make it to the shortlist of 15 Oscar finalists. Taking to Twitter, Vignesh Shivan said, “Hope ‘Pebbles’ enters the […]...
- 12/21/2021
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
AwardsKoozhangal has been nominated under the Best International Film category for the 37th edition of the Independent Spirit Awards, held a day before the Oscars. Tnm StaffAfter winning critical acclaim at several film festivals and being selected as India’s official entry to the 2022 Academy Awards, debutant director Ps Vinothraj’s Tamil film Koozhangal (Pebbles) has been nominated for the 37th edition of the prestigious Independent Spirit Awards, 2022. Koozhangal has been nominated under the Best International Film category of the award, which honours independent filmmakers. Other nominees under the category include Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s film Compartment No 6, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Japanese film Drive My Car, Spanish film Parallel Mothers directed by Pedro Almodóvar and starring Penelope Cruz, French film Petite Maman directed by Céline Sciamma, and Mexican film Prayers For The Stolen directed by Tatiana Huezo. The Spirit Awards are among the most prestigious award shows in...
- 12/15/2021
- by AditiKumar
- The News Minute
Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Drive My Car,” Japan’s entry to the Academy Awards’ international category, looks to be the odds on favorite from Asia to win the category.
The drama with a theater world backdrop follows the trajectory of South Korean four-statuette winner “Parasite” in that it began its winning ways at Cannes and is festooned with awards en route to the Oscars. “Parasite” won the Palme d’Or, which “Drive My Car” did not, with that honor this year going to Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” which became France’s entry to the category. It also recently won at the New York Film Critics Circle.
Nevertheless, “Drive My Car” won three awards at Cannes and has the added advantage of U.S. distribution, where it is currently on theatrical release.
The 2008 win for Takita Yojiro’s “Departures” remains Japan’s only win since the category was made competitive in 1956.
While...
The drama with a theater world backdrop follows the trajectory of South Korean four-statuette winner “Parasite” in that it began its winning ways at Cannes and is festooned with awards en route to the Oscars. “Parasite” won the Palme d’Or, which “Drive My Car” did not, with that honor this year going to Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” which became France’s entry to the category. It also recently won at the New York Film Critics Circle.
Nevertheless, “Drive My Car” won three awards at Cannes and has the added advantage of U.S. distribution, where it is currently on theatrical release.
The 2008 win for Takita Yojiro’s “Departures” remains Japan’s only win since the category was made competitive in 1956.
While...
- 12/12/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Iranian first film “Hit The Road,” directed by Panah Panahi, was named the winner of the Silver Screen Award for best film. The prizes were announced on the final Sunday of the Singapore International Film Festival.
“We continue to be inspired by filmmakers in the region and beyond as they continue to persevere and bring though-provoking stories to life under these tough circumstances. Sgiff is proud to celebrate their achievements,” said Sgiff executive director Emily J. Hoe.
Audience choice award winner “Some Women” by and about transsexual woman Quen Wong, will be re-screened on Sunday night to mark the finale of the 32nd edition of the festival.
Silver Screen Awards 2021: Winners
Best Film
“Hit The Road” dir. Panah Panahi (Iran)
Best Director
P.S. Vinothraj for “Pebbles” (India)
Best Performance
Tolepbergen Baissakalov in “Fire” (Kazakhstan).
Southeast Asian Short Film Competition
Best Southeast Asian Short Film
The Men Who Wait dir.
“We continue to be inspired by filmmakers in the region and beyond as they continue to persevere and bring though-provoking stories to life under these tough circumstances. Sgiff is proud to celebrate their achievements,” said Sgiff executive director Emily J. Hoe.
Audience choice award winner “Some Women” by and about transsexual woman Quen Wong, will be re-screened on Sunday night to mark the finale of the 32nd edition of the festival.
Silver Screen Awards 2021: Winners
Best Film
“Hit The Road” dir. Panah Panahi (Iran)
Best Director
P.S. Vinothraj for “Pebbles” (India)
Best Performance
Tolepbergen Baissakalov in “Fire” (Kazakhstan).
Southeast Asian Short Film Competition
Best Southeast Asian Short Film
The Men Who Wait dir.
- 12/5/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Every year since its creation in 1956, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) invites the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue and that was released theatrically in their respective countries between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021. The shortlist of fifteen finalists is scheduled to be announced on 21 December 2021. The final five nominees are scheduled to be announced on 8 February 2022.
Here are the Asian Submissions for Best International Feature Film. There are some excellent movies in this bunch and we have seen and reviewed already some of them.
Armenia
“Should the Wind Drop” by Nora Martirosyan
Azerbaijan
“The Island Within” by Ru Hasanov
Bangladesh
“Rehana” by Abdullah Mohammad Saad
Bhutan
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom...
Here are the Asian Submissions for Best International Feature Film. There are some excellent movies in this bunch and we have seen and reviewed already some of them.
Armenia
“Should the Wind Drop” by Nora Martirosyan
Azerbaijan
“The Island Within” by Ru Hasanov
Bangladesh
“Rehana” by Abdullah Mohammad Saad
Bhutan
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom...
- 11/28/2021
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Speakers on the Knowledge Series panels discussed the precarious position of South Asian independent filmmaking following the pandemic.
While India’s economy is recovering, cinemas reopening and the streaming business booming, as the devastating second wave of the pandemic recedes, this year’s edition of Film Bazaar Online (November 20-25) highlighted the precarious position of Indian and South Asian independent cinema in the post-Covid landscape.
Speakers on several panels during Film Bazaar’s Knowledge Series talked about the usual indie filmmaker headaches of accessing funding and distribution, as well as the need for further training in areas such as animation and VFX,...
While India’s economy is recovering, cinemas reopening and the streaming business booming, as the devastating second wave of the pandemic recedes, this year’s edition of Film Bazaar Online (November 20-25) highlighted the precarious position of Indian and South Asian independent cinema in the post-Covid landscape.
Speakers on several panels during Film Bazaar’s Knowledge Series talked about the usual indie filmmaker headaches of accessing funding and distribution, as well as the need for further training in areas such as animation and VFX,...
- 11/25/2021
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Deadline has launched the stand-alone streaming site for Contenders Film: International, featuring the 26 panels from Saturday’s all-day virtual showcase of key titles entered into the International Feature Oscar race. This year’s panel lineup included appearances by the likes of Javier Bardem, Noomi Rapace, Asghar Farhadi, Dan Stevens, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Agathe Rousselle discussing their buzzy projects as the movie-awards season heats up.
Click here to launch the streaming site.
The stars and filmmakers represented a wide swath of international offerings featuring Mubi’s Unclenching the Fists (Russia) and Great Freedom (Austria); Kino Lorber’s Luzzu (Malta), Hive (Kosovo), Casablanca Beats (Morocco) and Brighton 4th (Georgia); Aurum Film’s Leave No Traces (Poland); Sideshow and Janus Films’ Drive My Car (Japan); Cohen Media Group’s Let It Be Morning (Israel) and The Good Boss (Spain); Netflix’s The Hand of God (Italy) and Prayers For the Stolen (Mexico); Bleecker...
Click here to launch the streaming site.
The stars and filmmakers represented a wide swath of international offerings featuring Mubi’s Unclenching the Fists (Russia) and Great Freedom (Austria); Kino Lorber’s Luzzu (Malta), Hive (Kosovo), Casablanca Beats (Morocco) and Brighton 4th (Georgia); Aurum Film’s Leave No Traces (Poland); Sideshow and Janus Films’ Drive My Car (Japan); Cohen Media Group’s Let It Be Morning (Israel) and The Good Boss (Spain); Netflix’s The Hand of God (Italy) and Prayers For the Stolen (Mexico); Bleecker...
- 11/22/2021
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
The sobering story of Pebbles, about domestic violence in India, is inspired by an incident in filmmaker P.S. Vinothraj’s real-life past, in which his sister was “chased away by her husband” and forced to walk 14 miles whilst cradling her baby in scorching terrain.
In Pebbles, set in a sun-baked, drought-stricken region of southeast India, a young boy (Chellapandi) follows his violent and alcoholic father (Karuththadaiyaan) on a quest to fetch back his mother, who has run away following his latest abuse.
During the film’s panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film: International awards-season event, creative producer Amudhavan Karuppiah told us that the movie could help bring about change in the industry itself. “Producers like Mr. Vignesh Shivan and Ms. Nayanthara backing the film could encourage a lot of filmmakers to come up with such subjects, which are often turned a blind eye to,” he said.
Filmmaker Vignesh Shivan produced...
In Pebbles, set in a sun-baked, drought-stricken region of southeast India, a young boy (Chellapandi) follows his violent and alcoholic father (Karuththadaiyaan) on a quest to fetch back his mother, who has run away following his latest abuse.
During the film’s panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film: International awards-season event, creative producer Amudhavan Karuppiah told us that the movie could help bring about change in the industry itself. “Producers like Mr. Vignesh Shivan and Ms. Nayanthara backing the film could encourage a lot of filmmakers to come up with such subjects, which are often turned a blind eye to,” he said.
Filmmaker Vignesh Shivan produced...
- 11/20/2021
- by Anuj Radia and Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Film FestivalThe Iffk will be held across 12 film theatres in Thiruvananthapuram, and the Idsffk will be hosted in the four theatres inside the Ariesplex complex in the capital.Tnm StaffFrom a previous edition of IFFKThe 26th International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk) will be held in February 2022, the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy has announced. This time, it will be conducted only in Thiruvananthapuram from February 4 to 11, 2022. The inaugural ceremony will be held on the evening of February 4 at the Nishagandhi Auditorium, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan opening the festival. In December, the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (Idsffk) will be held in Thiruvananthapuram, between December 9 and 14. The Kerala State Chalachitra Academy conducts both the film festivals for the Department of Culture. The Iffk will be held across 12 film theatres in Thiruvananthapuram, and the Idsffk will be hosted in the four theatres inside the Ariesplex complex in the capital.
- 11/17/2021
- by Cris
- The News Minute
The Singapore International Film Festival is to be held as an in-person event this year, after operating as an online-offline hybrid in 2020. It will open with Indonesian filmmaker Edwin’s “Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash” and run Nov. 25- Dec. 5, 2021.
With a new program director, Thong Kay Wee the festival will be aligned as five new thematic strands: Foreground, Milestone, Standpoint, Undercurrent and Domain. It will also maintain its Singapore Panorama section dedicated to local works and its familiar Asian feature competition and Southeast Asian short film competition.
The competition includes: Palestinian director Mohamed Diab’s “Amira”; Thai director Jakrawal Nilthamrong’s “Anatomy of Time”; Aizhan Kassymbek’s “Fire”; Panah Panahi’s ”Hit The Road”; Chinese director Qiu Jiongjiong’s “A New Old Play”; Indian Oscar-contender “Pebbles,” by P.S. Vinothraj; Bangladesh’s Oscar contender “Rehana” by Abdullah Mohammad Saad; “Whether the Weather is Fine,” by Filipino director Carlo Francisco Manatad...
With a new program director, Thong Kay Wee the festival will be aligned as five new thematic strands: Foreground, Milestone, Standpoint, Undercurrent and Domain. It will also maintain its Singapore Panorama section dedicated to local works and its familiar Asian feature competition and Southeast Asian short film competition.
The competition includes: Palestinian director Mohamed Diab’s “Amira”; Thai director Jakrawal Nilthamrong’s “Anatomy of Time”; Aizhan Kassymbek’s “Fire”; Panah Panahi’s ”Hit The Road”; Chinese director Qiu Jiongjiong’s “A New Old Play”; Indian Oscar-contender “Pebbles,” by P.S. Vinothraj; Bangladesh’s Oscar contender “Rehana” by Abdullah Mohammad Saad; “Whether the Weather is Fine,” by Filipino director Carlo Francisco Manatad...
- 10/26/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Nominations in the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) were revealed today with nods for 38 films from 25 Asia Pacific countries and regions. Winners will be announced on Thursday, November 11, at the 14th Apsa Ceremony on the Australia Gold Coast. Nominations include Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car, which won the best screenplay award at Cannes, Asghar Farhadi’s Cannes Grand Prix winning, film A Hero, and the TIFF Platform award winning film Yuni directed by Kamila Andini.
Apsa celebrates cinema from over 70 countries, with an enhanced focus on content that reflects the region’s diversity.
Below is the full list of nominees.
Best Feature Film
A Hero (Ghahreman)
Directed by Asghar Farhadi
A Night of Knowing Nothing
Directed by Payal Kapadia
Drive My Car
Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
The Pencil (Prostoy karandash)
Directed by Natalya Nazarova
There is No Evil (Sheytan vojud nadarad)
Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof
Best Youth Feature...
Apsa celebrates cinema from over 70 countries, with an enhanced focus on content that reflects the region’s diversity.
Below is the full list of nominees.
Best Feature Film
A Hero (Ghahreman)
Directed by Asghar Farhadi
A Night of Knowing Nothing
Directed by Payal Kapadia
Drive My Car
Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
The Pencil (Prostoy karandash)
Directed by Natalya Nazarova
There is No Evil (Sheytan vojud nadarad)
Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof
Best Youth Feature...
- 10/13/2021
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Awards
Siân Heder’s “Coda,” an Apple original film, has won the 2021 Sundance Film Festival: London Award presented by BIFA.
The award was voted for by 40 leading professionals from the British film industry assembled by the British Independent Film Awards.
The film follows Ruby, a Coda or Child of Deaf Adults, who is torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents. The film stars Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Daniel Durant, and Marlee Matlin, and is produced by Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger.
It had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S., where it won best director U.S. dramatic, U.S. grand jury prize: dramatic and the audience award: U.S. dramatic. Walsh-Peelo attended the London event with Heder joining virtually for a Q & A.
The film will debut in cinemas and on Apple TV Plus on Aug.
Siân Heder’s “Coda,” an Apple original film, has won the 2021 Sundance Film Festival: London Award presented by BIFA.
The award was voted for by 40 leading professionals from the British film industry assembled by the British Independent Film Awards.
The film follows Ruby, a Coda or Child of Deaf Adults, who is torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents. The film stars Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Daniel Durant, and Marlee Matlin, and is produced by Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger.
It had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S., where it won best director U.S. dramatic, U.S. grand jury prize: dramatic and the audience award: U.S. dramatic. Walsh-Peelo attended the London event with Heder joining virtually for a Q & A.
The film will debut in cinemas and on Apple TV Plus on Aug.
- 8/4/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Other winners included P.S. Vinothraj’s ‘Pebbles’ and Martín de los Santos’s ’That Was Life’.
Russian director Philipp Yuryev was the big winner at this year’s Transilvania International Film Festival in Romania’s Cluj-Napoca, clinching the €10,000 Transilvania Trophy for his debut feature The Whaler Boy.
Distributed internationally by Laurent Danielou’s Paris-based Loco Films, the Russian-Polish-Belgian co-production also won the Director’s Award on its premiere at last year’s Venice Days.
It is the second Russian film in TIFF’s 20-year history to be presented with the top award: Ilya Krzhanovsky’s 4 shared the trophy with Juan Pablo Rebella...
Russian director Philipp Yuryev was the big winner at this year’s Transilvania International Film Festival in Romania’s Cluj-Napoca, clinching the €10,000 Transilvania Trophy for his debut feature The Whaler Boy.
Distributed internationally by Laurent Danielou’s Paris-based Loco Films, the Russian-Polish-Belgian co-production also won the Director’s Award on its premiere at last year’s Venice Days.
It is the second Russian film in TIFF’s 20-year history to be presented with the top award: Ilya Krzhanovsky’s 4 shared the trophy with Juan Pablo Rebella...
- 8/2/2021
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Philipp Yuryev’s “The Whaler Boy,” which took home the Venice Days award at last year’s Venice Film Festival, won the top prize at the Transilvania Film Festival on Saturday.
The jury praised the Russian director’s feature debut, an offbeat story of a teenage whale hunter on the Bering Strait who sets out to meet a webcam model, for being “beautiful and meticulous in its sense of time and place” while also being “really resonant and contemporary at the same time as being classic.”
Yuryev, who had not attended the festival, was hastily flown to Cluj from Moscow on Saturday morning, telling the audience: “It is really something surprising to be here, and to have a chance to visit this place and to see you all.” He dedicated the award to the remote whale-hunting community in Chukotka where the movie was filmed, as well as to its young...
The jury praised the Russian director’s feature debut, an offbeat story of a teenage whale hunter on the Bering Strait who sets out to meet a webcam model, for being “beautiful and meticulous in its sense of time and place” while also being “really resonant and contemporary at the same time as being classic.”
Yuryev, who had not attended the festival, was hastily flown to Cluj from Moscow on Saturday morning, telling the audience: “It is really something surprising to be here, and to have a chance to visit this place and to see you all.” He dedicated the award to the remote whale-hunting community in Chukotka where the movie was filmed, as well as to its young...
- 8/1/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The 12th annual Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival has announced the lineup of events for its 2021 edition, and it looks fantastic. With films from festival favorites like A'hr from Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, current darlings like Pebbles from V.S. Vinothraj, and even genre offerings like Autohead's Rohit Mittal's new film Pop City, there's something for everyone. Add to those, a sprawling lineup of features, documentaries, shorts, and talks with luminaries like Gurinder Chadha, Asif Kapadia, Karan Johar, Shruti Haasan and more, and there's a lot to be excited about in this month long celebration of Indian cinema taking place from 17th June - 4th July. The London Indian Film Festival opens with Womb (Women of My Billion) and closes with Flight. Information regarding schedules...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 5/27/2021
- Screen Anarchy
The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) offers the opportunity to discover the newest films from India. It shows how this specific film culture delights with indie films about personal destines and social issues. Among the feature films of this year’s program is also the debut by Tamil director Thamizh. His social drama resembles in many ways to “Pebbles” by P. S. Vinothraj the winner of this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam.
“Seththumaan (Pig)“ is screening at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
“Seththumaan” is set in a similar region, in the South of India. It is hot, the landscape is sandy and dry. The protagonist is an elderly man from a low caste. After the brutal death of his son and daughter-in-law he provides for the upbringing of his grandson. They both live on very modest circumstances, but Poochi does everything in order for the child to have a better future.
“Seththumaan (Pig)“ is screening at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
“Seththumaan” is set in a similar region, in the South of India. It is hot, the landscape is sandy and dry. The protagonist is an elderly man from a low caste. After the brutal death of his son and daughter-in-law he provides for the upbringing of his grandson. They both live on very modest circumstances, but Poochi does everything in order for the child to have a better future.
- 5/22/2021
- by Teresa Vena
- AsianMoviePulse
The esteemed London Indian Film Festival is ready to entertain, inspire and make people think with their special line-up of films, and guests this June. Titled To India With Love, this year the festival will be presented in a special hybrid format!
In a challenging year for India and South Asia, the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival and its sister festivals in Birmingham and Manchester will be a love letter to the homelands, continuing to premiere the very best of new indie films from the Indian subcontinent and diaspora, from 17th June to 4th July 2021. As always it goes Beyond Bollywood!
Festival Director Cary Rajinder Sawhney MBE says: “Last year we grew our audiences quite substantially by going online and UK-wide. With the UK scene improving, we are delighted to not only offer a strong high definition online experience on LoveLIFFatHome.com, but to also welcome our audiences back...
In a challenging year for India and South Asia, the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival and its sister festivals in Birmingham and Manchester will be a love letter to the homelands, continuing to premiere the very best of new indie films from the Indian subcontinent and diaspora, from 17th June to 4th July 2021. As always it goes Beyond Bollywood!
Festival Director Cary Rajinder Sawhney MBE says: “Last year we grew our audiences quite substantially by going online and UK-wide. With the UK scene improving, we are delighted to not only offer a strong high definition online experience on LoveLIFFatHome.com, but to also welcome our audiences back...
- 5/20/2021
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
Vinothraj P.S. is an Indian filmmaker. While working in a DVD shop in Chennai, he was introduced to people from the Tamil film industry. This led to him becoming assistant director on two films by A. Sargunam. After working as a assistant theatre director, he began making his own films. Pebbles (2021) is his feature film debut with its world premiere at IFFR.
On the occasion of “Pebbles” winning the Tiger Award at the International Film festival Rotterdam, we speak with him about the landscape of the film, balancing seriousness and humor, the cast, and other topics
The landscape is one of the protagonists of the film. Was that your intention from the beginning? Could you tell us more about the area the story is located in?
I was born and grew up exactly there, in this area in a village around the place where we shot the film. I...
On the occasion of “Pebbles” winning the Tiger Award at the International Film festival Rotterdam, we speak with him about the landscape of the film, balancing seriousness and humor, the cast, and other topics
The landscape is one of the protagonists of the film. Was that your intention from the beginning? Could you tell us more about the area the story is located in?
I was born and grew up exactly there, in this area in a village around the place where we shot the film. I...
- 2/9/2021
- by Teresa Vena
- AsianMoviePulse
Rotterdam Winners
This year’s virtual International Film Festival Rotterdam has crowned the winners from its film program. Southern India-set Pebbles by Vinothraj P.S won the Tiger Award, while I Comete – A Corsican Summer by French filmmaker Pascal Tagnati and Looking for Venera by Norika Sefa from Kosovo both won Special Jury Awards. The Vpro Big Screen Award went to El perro que no calla by Ana Katz from Argentina and Quo Vadis, Aida? by Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Žbanić won the BankGiro Loterij Audience Award. The festival named its industry winners last week. “In these most challenging of times, we are incredibly proud to have brought an outstanding selection of titles in our reimagined festival format,” said festival director Vanja Kaludjercic.
Goteborg Fest Awards
Tigers, directed by Ronnie Sandahl, won the 2021 Dragon Award Best Nordic Film as this year’s Goteborg Film Festival came to a close over the weekend.
This year’s virtual International Film Festival Rotterdam has crowned the winners from its film program. Southern India-set Pebbles by Vinothraj P.S won the Tiger Award, while I Comete – A Corsican Summer by French filmmaker Pascal Tagnati and Looking for Venera by Norika Sefa from Kosovo both won Special Jury Awards. The Vpro Big Screen Award went to El perro que no calla by Ana Katz from Argentina and Quo Vadis, Aida? by Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Žbanić won the BankGiro Loterij Audience Award. The festival named its industry winners last week. “In these most challenging of times, we are incredibly proud to have brought an outstanding selection of titles in our reimagined festival format,” said festival director Vanja Kaludjercic.
Goteborg Fest Awards
Tigers, directed by Ronnie Sandahl, won the 2021 Dragon Award Best Nordic Film as this year’s Goteborg Film Festival came to a close over the weekend.
- 2/8/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Cinema from India has been and continues to be well represented at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. At the just-concluded online edition of the festival, a mix of drama, comedy and character study set in a poor counterpart of southern India even won the top prize, the Tiger Award. “Pebbles” by P. S. Vinothraj more than deserved the honor.
Pebbles is screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam
If one had to sum up the film with a single word, it would be “rage.” With a firm step, a man walks through a few simple houses, looks around and doesn’t say a word when someone asks him who or what he is looking for. One of the boys, sitting on the ground with the other pupils, suddenly stands up. His father’s look already says it all and he follows him, somewhat listlessly, but still submissively.
At the dusty road,...
Pebbles is screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam
If one had to sum up the film with a single word, it would be “rage.” With a firm step, a man walks through a few simple houses, looks around and doesn’t say a word when someone asks him who or what he is looking for. One of the boys, sitting on the ground with the other pupils, suddenly stands up. His father’s look already says it all and he follows him, somewhat listlessly, but still submissively.
At the dusty road,...
- 2/8/2021
- by Teresa Vena
- AsianMoviePulse
Pebbles, an Indian drama from director Vinothraj P.S., has won the top prize, the Tiger Award for best film, at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).
The feature, set in an arid landscape in Indian’s southern Tamil Nadu region, follows an alcoholic abusive husband who, after his long-suffering wife runs off, sets out with his young son to find her and bring her back.
“The jury was blown away by a seemingly simple and humble film we fell in love with instantly,” the Rotterdam jury said in a statement. “Creating a maximum impact with a ...
The feature, set in an arid landscape in Indian’s southern Tamil Nadu region, follows an alcoholic abusive husband who, after his long-suffering wife runs off, sets out with his young son to find her and bring her back.
“The jury was blown away by a seemingly simple and humble film we fell in love with instantly,” the Rotterdam jury said in a statement. “Creating a maximum impact with a ...
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.