PS Vinothraj explained

P. S. Vinothraj
Birth Name:P.S Vinothraj
Birth Date:18 June 1988 (age 36)
Nationality:Indian
Occupation:Film directorScreenwriter

P. S. Vinothraj (born 18 June 1988) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed the critically-acclaimed Tamil film, Pebbles (Koozhangal) which is also his debut film. Pebbles was screened at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam held in Netherlands on 4 February 2021, where it received the Tiger Award at the festival.[1] It is the second Indian film to win this prestigious award. It was selected as the Indian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.[2] [3] [4]

Early life

Vinothraj's father died when Vinothraj was in class 4.[5] He had to drop out of school and work in the flower markets of Madurai as a daily wage labourer. He went to Tiruppur at the age of 14 to work there in one of the town's textile factories. He joined a tutorial college and studied there for a couple of years. Eventually, seeing his fellow co-workers have their lives destroyed, he decided to leave the place and go to Chennai and work in cinema.[6]

Film career

Vinothraj was fascinated with cinema after seeing a film shooting when he was a child.[7] In Chennai he got a job as an employee at a DVD shop. He worked there for five years and during that time he used to talk to various film directors and assistant directors and others working in cinema.[8] He watched a lot of films, especially foreign films. He doesn't understand English and could not understand the subtitles in foreign language films, so eventually, he started watching visually-striking films that he could understand without subtitles.[9]

He got work as an assistant director in some short films in the Nalaiya Iyakkunar TV Program using the contacts he got from working in the DVD shop. Later, he met A. Sarkunam, the Tamil film director whose films include Kalavani and Vaagai Sooda Vaa. He then went on to work as an assistant director in the Tamil feature film Manjapai (2013), directed by Raghavan and produced by Sarkunam. After working in that film, he felt he needed to learn more and so, he joined the post-modernistic theatre troupe Manal Magudi and worked there as an assistant director for two years.[10]

Vinothraj made a short film, Subway, at this time on a shoe-string budget.[11] The idea for Pebbles was based on what his sister told him about her treatment by her husband. Her family could not pay a dowry, so her husband threw her out and she had to walk almost 13 kilometres to her mother's house.[12] The film was produced by Learn and Teach Productions. Vinothraj, along with his team, shot the film in around 37 days in the peak hours of sunlight during the noon as he wanted to capture the heat of the landscape.[13]

Filmography

!Year!Film!Notes
2021Pebbles
2024

Awards and honours

Pebbles!Award!Category!Result!Ref
International Film Festival of RotterdamTiger Award (Best Film)[14]
Academy AwardsBest International Feature[15]
Film Independent Spirit AwardsBest International Feature[16]
ShorTS International Film FestivalPremio SNCCI (Jury Prize)[17]
Transilvania International Film FestivalSpecial Jury Award[18]
Golden Apricot International Film FestivalGolden Apricot Award (Best Film Award)[19]
Singapore International Film FestivalBest Director Award[20]
Dhaka International Film FestivalBest Film Award[21]
Black Movie Independent International Film FestivalPeople's Jury Award[22]
Asian Film AwardsBest New Director[23]
Asia Pacific Screen AwardsAchievement in Direction[24]
International Film Festival of KeralaNETPAC Award, Special Jury Prize, Audience Award[25]

Notes and References

  1. News: Roxborough . Scott . February 7, 2021 . 'Pebbles' Wins Top Honor at 2021 Rotterdam Film Festival . . February 7, 2021.
  2. Web site: Oscars: Tamil film 'Koozhangal' will represent India in the international feature film category . Scroll.in . 23 October 2021 . 23 October 2021.
  3. Web site: 22 December 2021. India's official entry to Oscars, Tamil film Koozhangal, out of the race. 4 January 2022. The News Minute.
  4. Web site: I don't corner my characters, only place them in context: 'Koozhangal' director Vinodhraj. New Indian Express.
  5. Web site: P.S. Vinothraj on making of 'Koozhangal', India's official entry to the Oscars . 2024-08-13 . The Week . en.
  6. Web site: From Flower Hawker To Film Auteur: PS Vinothraj, India's New Cinematic Sensation . 2022-08-06 . Forbes India . en.
  7. Web site: 2021-11-21 . From child labourer to Oscar hopeful, the extraordinary life of PS Vinothraj . 2022-08-06 . the Guardian . en.
  8. Web site: 2021-10-27 . Selling DVDs to directing India's Oscar entry, an interview with filmmaker Vinothraj . 2022-08-06 . The News Minute . en.
  9. News: S . Srivatsan . 2021-02-10 . PS Vinothraj on 'Koozhangal' and the growing space for parallel cinema in Tamil . en-IN . The Hindu . 2022-08-06 . 0971-751X.
  10. Web site: Hunt . Aaron . 2021-02-10 . "Everybody Had to Work Barefoot": P.S. Vinothraj on His Tiger-Award Winning Pebbles Filmmaker Magazine . 2022-08-06 . Filmmaker Magazine . en-US.
  11. Web site: Ramnath . Nandini . The fire in the belly from which the award-winning Tamil film 'Koozhangal' emerged . 2022-08-06 . Scroll.in . en-US.
  12. Web site: 2021-02-21 . Filmmaker PS Vinothraj on his Rotterdam winner Pebbles, the politics of his image-making and his humble beginnings . 2022-08-06 . Firstpost . en.
  13. Web site: Poverty Forced Him Into Child Labour, Now His Film Is Winning Awards for Capturing Harsh Realities . 2022-08-06 . www.vice.com . en.
  14. Web site: Hudson . David . Pebbles Tops the Rotterdam 2021 Awards . 2022-08-06 . The Criterion Collection . en.
  15. News: 'Pebbles', India's official entry at the 2022 Academy Awards, out of the Oscars race . The Economic Times . 2022-08-06.
  16. Web site: 2021-12-15 . After Oscars, 'Pebbles' nominated for Spirit Awards . 2022-08-06 . Deccan Herald . en.
  17. Web site: Shorts International Film Festival - Premio SNCCI Miglior lungometraggio votato dalla giuria del Sindacato Nazionale Critici Cinematografici Italiani "Koozhangal" di P.S. Vinothraj Motivazione: Per la capacità di fondere senza alcun tipo di forzatura la vivida rappresentazione della realtà e la metafora di una condizione umana allo stremo, in un mondo dominato dall'aridità, tanto naturale quanto mentale. Un film dicotomico che ha la capacità di porsi ad altezza bimbo, inseguendo la lezione del neorealismo e del cinema iraniano, per raccontare una società iniqua dove a pagare il prezzo più alto sono gli ultimi, i poveri, i bambini, e le donne (le uniche che forse sanno ancora come trovare l'acqua). Facebook . 2022-08-06 . www.facebook.com . en.
  18. Web site: Blaney2021-08-02T10:24:00+01:00 . Martin . 'The Whaler Boy' wins top prize at 2021 Transilvania film festival . 2022-08-06 . Screen . en.
  19. Web site: The Golden Apricot Festival wraps its 18th edition with wins for Pebbles, Downstream to Kinshasa and Taming the Garden . 2022-08-06 . Cineuropa - the best of european cinema . en.
  20. Web site: Singapore International Film Festival - SGIFF . 2022-08-06 . www.facebook.com . en.
  21. Web site: 2022-01-26 . 'Pebbles' wins Best Film award at 20th Dhaka International Film Festival . 2022-08-06 . Odisha News, Odisha Latest news, Odisha Daily - OrissaPOST . en-US.
  22. Web site: Black Movie . 2022-08-06 . www.facebook.com . en.
  23. Web site: 2021-09-13 . 'Disciple', 'Pebbles' get Asian Film Awards nominations in good season for Indian indies . 2022-08-06 . en-US.
  24. Web site: P S Vinothraj for Pebbles (Koozhangal) . 2022-08-06 . Asia Pacific Screen Awards . en-US.
  25. Web site: 'Pebbles' shines at IFFK . 2022-08-06 . www.yugmarg.com.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "PS Vinothraj".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.