Koozhangal nominated for Film Independent Spirit Awards

India's official entry to the Oscars,

Koozhangal

, directed by

PS Vinothraj

, has bagged it first major nomination on the awards circuit in the run up the the Academy Awards. The Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan-backed drama has been nominated under the Best International Film category at the 37th Film

Independent Spirit Awards

, a major award event that honours independent films.

Koozhangal or

Pebbles

(as it is known internationally) finds itself among an elite crop of movies that have made it to the short-list. The films of heavy-weight filmmakers like Pedro Almodóvar and Céline Sciamma figure among the six films that have been nominated under the Best International Film category. The other contenders include Pedro Almodóvar, Parallel Mothers (Spain), Céline Sciamma, Petite Maman (France), Juho Kuosmanen, Compartment No. 6 (Finland/Russia), Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car (Japan) and Tatiana Huezo, Prayers for the Stolen (Mexico).


The Film Independent Spirit Awards, which were first launched in 1984, is among the most respected award show in the US. It takes place a day before the Oscars, and the upcoming edition will take place on March 7, 2022.

Koozhangal, which is based on the relationship between an alcoholic father and his son, follows their journey together to bring back the wife/mother who has gone off to her father’s house. It is based on a real incident that took place in director Vinothraj’s family, inspiring him to spin it into a story for his debut film. The film has already won the prestigious

Tiger Award

at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam held in the Netherlands earlier this year. The film has music by Yuvan Shankar Raja.

The Koozhangal team has begun its Oscar campaign by promoting the film in Hollywood. The team has been speaking to Hollywood publications and entertainment websites, sharing the origins of the film and what it means for them to have been selected as India's official Oscar entry.