25th International Film Festival of Kerala, Trivandrum

The festival started in Trivandrum and moved then to other cities in the south-Indian State of Kerala. Our online jury presented one prize to a film in the international competition and another prize to the best Malayalam debut.

Motivation for awarding Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 goes as follows: “The relationship between a robot and an elderly man could easily have been a cloying, overly sentimental tale. But this one keeps it in a very real, very relatable way. The film may be based in Kerala but it has a universal appeal: we all understand how hard it is to keep loneliness at bay.”

In Between Dying was awarded with the following motivation: “A strange and deadly road ride along poetic landscapes following a man in search for meaning of existence while helping a series of women in danger. This is an almosr mythological journey not so far away from that of Siddhartha cleverly photographed with long poetic and dreamy shots. It’s a film that will grow on you.”