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Anand Ekarshi’s ‘Aattam’ wins Grand Jury Award at IFFLA

The Malayalam film is directed by debutant Anand Ekarshi.

Aattam film poster / Image - Instagram

At the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA), the Malayalam film Aattam, directed by Anand Ekarshi, took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Picture. The chamber drama shot to prominence after making it onto the prestigious list of 20 films recommended to international festivalgoers by the Film Bazaar Jury, a division of India's National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).

The jury stated, as quoted by the Broadway world: “Aattam, a stunningly written and acted ensemble film set amid a Kerala theatre troupe… that manages to provoke, question and interrogate the politics of gender as an utter revelation.”

The Jury Members for the Feature Film Competition were Karan Soni (actor, Deadpool, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, Miracle Workers), Bilal Qureshi (journalist and film critic, NPR and Washington Post) and Utkarshini Vashishtha (screenwriter, Gangubai Kathiawadi, Sarbjt; Associate Director, India's Got Talent). 

The talented cast of Aattam includes Kalabhavan Shajohn, Nandan Unni, Vinay Forrt, Zarin Shihab, and a few up-and-comers.  The film was edited by Mahesh Bhuvanend, and the cinematography was done by Anurudh Aneesh. Renganaath Ravee is in charge of sound design, and Basil CJ composed the score for the film's background. 

The 2023 Indian Feature Festival of Los Angeles came to an end on October 15 with the closing night feature, "All India Rank," directed by Varun Grover. Before the film's conclusion, the filmmaker gave a brief stand-up comedy performance as his opening act.  

The highly regarded festival's 2023 edition included 24 films (6 narrative features, 2 documentary features, and 16 shorts) from 13 countries and in 14 languages. These included the North American premieres of Varun Grover's dramedy All India Rank, Dominic Sangma's Garo language film Rapture, and the Malayalam film Aattam (The Play) by Anand Ekarshi, as well as the world theatrical premieres of Vishal Bhardwaj's Khufiya and Atul Sabharwal's Berlin. 

The LA County Department of Arts and Culture is IFFLA's sponsor as part of Creative Recovery LA, an American Rescue Plan-funded program. The Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Los Angeles, and the California Arts Council—a state agency—also contribute to the festival's funding.

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