Final-Film Festival-13-11-08.p65 - Directorate of Film Festivals

Kathapurushan also won him the national award for the bestfeature film in all Indian languages. He has won national awardfor best director four times and best script writer twice. Hisfilms have been shown in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto,Rotterdam, London, and every important festival around theworld. Adoor's third feature, Elippathayam won him the covetedBritish Film Institute Award for the most original and imaginativefilm of 1982. The International Film Critics Prize (FIPRESCI)has gone to him six times successively for Mukhamukham,Anantaram, Mathilukal, Vidheyan, Kathapurushan andNizhalkkuthu.In the year 2004 the French Government conferred on himthe title of The Commander of the Order of Arts and Lettersrecognizing his contribution to cinema. Following it, the Indiannation presented him the Dada Phalke Award, the highestrecognition for life-time achievement in Cinema. The next yearhe was given the country's top civilian award of the title ofPadma vibhushan. The same year, the Mahatma GandhiUniversity conferred on him the honorary degree of D.Litt.His collection of essays, The World of Cinema was given thenational award for the Best book on Cinema in 1984.The French Cinematheque in Paris, Film Society of LincolnCentre New York, and The Smithsonian Institution in Washingtonamong others have honored him by holding full retrospectivesof his work.His feature films all in Malayalam are: Swayamvaram - One'sown Choice(1972), Kodiyettam - Ascent (1977), Elippathayam-Rat -trap(1981), Mukhamukham- Face to Face(1984), Anantaram-Monologue(1987), Mathilukal- Walls(1990) Vidheyan - TheServile(1993) Kathapurushan -Man of the Story(1995),Nizhalkkuthu - Shadow Kill (2002) andHis eleventh film, 'A woman, two men' which is underproduction now is expected to be completed by January nextyear.DIRECTOR'S STATEMENTDoordarshan, India's national television net-work approachedme some time back, to make a programme based on the worksof the famed Keralan author Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. Thisprolific writer who is a favourite author of mine has writtenmore than forty novels and as many as four hundred shortstories. It took a while for me to read up all his writings together.Now, some of my favourite stories of yester years suddenlylooked pale and wanting while a few others I had read andforgotten about emerged with remarkable vitality and relevance.After all, this time my angle of vision was different, I was lookingfor seed material to make a film.Interestingly, the works I short-listed for filming - nine in all- were short stories.The selection of short stories was significant as it would indue course allow me the freedom to introduce characters,situations and infuse sub-texts and layers into the narrative.These stories, each independent and set in a specific time(between the 40s and 60s) and place (Kuttanadu - the granary ofKerala), together reflect the plight of women in a society intransition and resonate concerns that are contemporary.42 43