Malayalam film 'Paradise', starring Darshana Rajendran and Roshan Mathew, clinched the Audience Jury Award at Spain's 23rd Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival. Directed by Prasanna Vithanage and co-written by Prasanna and Anushka Senanayake, 'Paradise' weaves a story of emotion, struggle, and resilience. Produced by Newton Cinemas and presented by Mani Ratnam under Madras Talkies, it stands as the inaugural Indian film entirely shot in Sri Lanka.
The audience award is conferred by pre-selected members of the audience, chosen from among the feature films showcased in the Official Feature Films Section of the festival.
The award was received by the director at the closing ceremony of the festival.
Sri Lankan author Prasanna Vithanage's 10th directorial venture, features a cast, including Darshana Rajendran, Roshan Mathew, Shyam Fernando, and Mahendra Perera.
The crew, including Rajeev Ravi handled cinematography, A. Sreekar Prasad was the editor, Tapas Nayak was the sound designer, and K (Krishna Kumar) was the music director.
The trailer of the film was released by Mani Ratnam and is the debut collaboration between Mani Ratnam and Madras Talkies within the Malayalam film industry.
Recipient of more than 30 international awards, 'Paradise' is the 10th feature directorial of Prasanna Vithanage.
The film explores the profound narrative of Sri Lanka's economic crisis in 2022.
It was screened in the World Cinema category of the International Film Festival of Kerala and Jio MAMI Film Festival, receiving acclaim from both national and international critics. Distributed by Century Films, 'Paradise' is to be released in June.
(With IANS inputs)
