After winning critical acclaim at several film festivals and being selected as India’s official entry to the 2022 Academy Awards, debutant director PS Vinothraj’s Tamil film Koozhangal (Pebbles) has been nominated for the 37th edition of the prestigious Independent Spirit Awards, 2022. Koozhangal has been nominated under the Best International Film category of the award, which honours independent filmmakers.
Other nominees under the category include Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s film Compartment No 6, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Japanese film Drive My Car, Spanish film Parallel Mothers directed by Pedro Almodóvar and starring Penelope Cruz, French film Petite Maman directed by Céline Sciamma, and Mexican film Prayers For The Stolen directed by Tatiana Huezo. The Spirit Awards are among the most prestigious award shows in the US and the ceremony is typically held a day before the Academy Awards show. This time, the Spirit Awards show is slated to be held on March 7, 2022.
Koozhangal has been nominated as India’s official entry to the Oscars in 2022, and is produced and presented by actor Nayanthara and director Vignesh Shivan. The film also bagged the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam earlier this year, making it the first Tamil film to win the award. Koozhangal was also screened at the Kyiv Molodist Film Festival in Ukraine and at the prestigious Shanghai International Film Festival.
Koozhangal is based on the relationship shared by an alcoholic father and his son. The plot tracks how the father-son duo bring back their wife/ mother, after she goes back to her father’s house. It stars debutante actors Karuththadaiyan and Chella Pandi. Koozhangal is inspired from director Vinothraj PS’s personal life. The Madurai-based filmmaker had to drop out of school in fourth grade and worked in a textile factory till he turned 19 in order to overcome financial hurdles. Composer Yuvan Shankar Raja was roped in to take care of the soundtrack and background score for the movie.