Dileesh Pothan and Fahadh's Joji wins big at Swedish International Film Festival

After garnering rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, Malayalam movie Joji has recently bagged the Best International Film Award at the Swedish International Film Festival (SIFF) 2021. The ensemble cast of the Dileesh Pothan directorial included Fahadh Faasil, Baburaj, Shammi Thilakan, Unnimaya Prasad and Basil Joseph, among others in pivotal roles. Sharing the update with fans, Bhavana Studios, the production banner bankrolling the film wrote, “Good News from Sweden! JOJI won The Best International Feature Film Award @ the Swedish International Film Festival (SIFF) 2021.” 

SIFF is scheduled to take place from October 25 to 31st this year. Upon receiving the submission of films, SIFF started the selection process with the announcement of an eligibility list, followed by the first round of selection and subsequently the list of winners- films that have been selected for screening. Some of the films from the selected lot will be handpicked by the judges in Sweden and streamed before an audience at the physical screening that will take place in October 2021. The dates for the screening are yet to be decided.  

READ: 'Joji' review: Fahadh and Dileesh Pothan deliver a brilliant adaptation of 'Macbeth' 

Helmed by filmmaker Dileesh Pothan, Joji is written by Syam Pushkaran. The director-writer duo had teamed up earlier for acclaimed Malayalam film Maheshinte Prathikaram, which also starred actor Fahadh in the lead. Meanwhile, Dileesh had also directed the critically acclaimed Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, starring Fahadh in a pivotal role. Speaking about Joji in an earlier interview with TNM, Fahadh Faasil mentioned that it is by far the most difficult role the actor has played.  

Inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Joji premiered on Over-the-top (OTT) platform Amazon Prime Video on April 7 this year. Speaking to TNM earlier, director Dileesh explained how the team was influenced by the ideologies in the play. "I was inspired by Macbeth. We were influenced by the ideologies in the play. We arrived at Joji because we felt these ideologies are present in Kerala today, too. It was an attempt to explore the possibilities of these ideologies in the current social scenario. The excitement of reading Macbeth took us to this plot, and we followed and developed it sincerely. But we were not adamant that Joji should match Macbeth in every way," Dileesh stated.  

Watch the trailer of Joji here:  

Good News from Sweden !

JOJI won The Best International Feature Film Award @ the Swedish International Film Festival (SIFF) 2021. @CineSweden@BhavanaStudios, #DileeshPothan, #FahadhFaasil, #SyamPushkaran, @PrimeVideoIN, #WorkingClassHero, #JojiMovie pic.twitter.com/c9IdfnbP4O

— Bhavana Studios (@BhavanaStudios) September 23, 2021

READ: Playing Bincy, the Lady Macbeth of 'Joji': Unnimaya Prasad interview 

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