Director Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Malayalam film Ee. Ma. Yau, starring Chemban Vinod Jose, won the Silver Peacock awards for the best director and the best actor at the recently concluded 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Ukrainian film Donbass won the Golden Peacock Award for the Best Film at this annual festival held in Goa.
Anastasiia Pustovit won the Best Actor (Female) for her performance in the Ukrainian film When The Trees Fell. The recipients of the Silver Peacock Awards in the acting categories received a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh and the best director won Rs.15 lakh.
Bulgarian director Milko Lazarov won the Special Jury Award for his film Aga while Alberto Monteras II received the Centenary award for ‘Best Debut Feature Film of a Director’ for his Filipino movie Respeto. Bollywood screenwriter Salim Khan was honoured with the IFFI 2018 Special Award for his outstanding contribution to cinema.
This year’s festival was held from November 21 – 28 and saw 212 films from over 68 countries showcased under 15 sections. Ee. Ma. Yau was featured in the international competition section that comprised of 15 films of which two movies – Bhayanakam (Malayalam) and To Let (Tamil) were from India.
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Ee. Ma. Yau, which won Pellissery the State Award for the best director last year, is a social satire that revolves around death. The movie is centered on its protagonist Eeshi (played by Vinod Jose) who promises his father a grand funeral upon his passing. Eeshi’s march from pillar to post to fulfil this promise forms the crux of the movie. Also starring Vinayakan and Dileesh Pothan, the movie, written by P.F.Mathews, is set in a coastal village in Kerala comprising mainly of Latin Catholics.
Pellissery’s Angamaly Diaries which released last year was also appreciated. Jallikkattu is his upcoming project.
Watch the trailer of Ee.Ma.Yau:
Image Courtesy: IndiaIndependentFilms