Malayalam movie Eelam, written and directed by debutant Vinod Krishnan, has won the best international feature film award at the Golden State Film Festival (GSFF) held in Los Angeles, California. The festival was conducted at Hollywood’s famed TCL Chinese Theatre.
Eelam, which became the first Malayalam movie to be screened at the famous theatre, was the official entry at the GSFF.
The movie is jointly produced by Jaya Menon, Shiji Mathew Cherukara and Vinayan Sadasivan Nair for the banner of Ego Planet Productions.
Eelam had earlier grabbed attention after winning the jury award for the best experimental film at the Bayamon International Film Festival in Puerto Rico. Eelam is the latest example of Malayalam movies gaining global recognition and honours.
The movie is based on a short story written by Vinod Krishnan. The story of Eelam takes place entirely in a bar. It is the surreal treatment of the plot that elevates Eelam. Bijibal’s captivating background score is another highlight of the movie. Interestingly, different musical instruments have been used for each character.
Thampi Antony, Roshan NG, a makeup artist specialized in prosthetic makeup from London; Kavitha Nair, Josekutty Madathil, and Vinayan GS play pivotal roles in the movie.
The camera is cranked by Tharun Bhasker. The songs penned by Ajeesh Dasan are composed by Ramesh Narayanan and sung by Shahbaz Aman. Anush Mohan was the associate director.
Eelam is the name of the first civilization. The movie deals with a universal theme in the most amazing way. A small movie like Eelam winning multiple awards on international platforms has truly inspired many new filmmakers. Eelam had been selected for the Rome Independent Film Festival and it had won the Prisma award.
