Biju Viswanath
Biju Viswanath is an international film director, director of photography and screenwriter.[1] His movies have been screened throughout the world. Viswanath has directed movies in English, Tamil, Italian, Irish, Swahili, Japanese, and Indian languages. His credits span multiple genres: thrillers, mystery, horror, romance and critically acclaimed dramas.
Biju Viswanath | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupation | Film Director, Screenwriter, Director of Photography, Film Editor |
| Website | http://www.bijuviswanath.com/ |
Career
Viswanath's directorial debut A Voyage is based on the works of famous Indian writer M. T. Vasudevan Nair, winner of highest literary award in India Jnanpith. The film won the Gold Medal for Best Short Film in India and Honorable Mention in Zanzibar International Film Festival.[2]
His international English feature film Déjàvu with British actors premiered at the 54th Locarno International Film Festival.
Only two other Indian films have made it to Locarno in its 54-year history, the other being the Oscar-nominated Hindi film Lagaan.[3] Dejavu was screened in 24 international film festivals.
His Urdu film Parwaaz (The Flight) won Special Prize in Patras Film Festival.[4]
Viswanath won two awards for Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay in New York Independent Film Festival for his feature film Marathon (2010) Marathon imdb based on the true story of Pulitzer Prize winning American poet William Morris Meredith, Jr.[4]
Another Feature film "Viola"Viola imdb won Golden palm in the Mexico International Film festival[5]
Swahili short film "The Shadow Tree" won the Special Award in Skepto Film Festival in Italy,[6] Signis Award and Best short Film Award in 2014 at Zanzibar Film Festival,[7] and Special Mention award at the 4th Filmambiente international festival Brazil.[8]
Biju Viswanath's Tamil Feature film "Orange Mittai" is produced and co written by the famous Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi[9]
Biju's Canadian movie "Living is Easy" Received Gold award in Mindfield Film Festival Albuquerque 2019. Best narrative short in Pinnacle Film Awards 2019,[10]
Filmography
Selected filmography
| Year | Film | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Peter Scott | Malayalam | |
| 1998 | A Voyage (silent) | ||
| 2000 | O. Henry Stories | Malayalam | |
| 2001 | Dejavu | English | |
| 2003 | Music Videos MTV | Hindi | |
| 2004 | Second Coming | English | |
| 2005 | Zodiac Tales | English | |
| 2006 | Sign of Four | English | |
| 2006 | Grand Festival | Hindi English | |
| 2007 | Lorg | Irish | |
| 2008 | Parwaaz | Urdu | |
| 2008 | Rian | Irish | |
| 2009 | Oshizemi | Japanese | |
| 2010 | Marathon | English | |
| 2011 | Viola | English | |
| 2012 | The Nail | English | |
| 2013 | Mafiosi | Italian | |
| 2013 | Shadow Tree | Swahili | |
| 2014 | Thief and Wind chime | Tamil | |
| 2015 | Orange Mittai | Tamil | |
| 2017 | Living is Easy | English | |
| 2018 | Silent Times | English | |
| 2019 | Chennai Palani Mars | Tamil |
Film festivals/awards
| Year | Film | Language | Festivals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Living is easy | English | Golden Award. Mindfield Film Festival Albuquerque Best Narrative short. Pinnacle Film Awards |
| 2019 | Silent Times | English | Grand Jury Gold Award. West Coast International Film Festival Best Feature Film.Pinnacle Film Awards |
| 2014 | Shadow Tree | Swahili | Special Award.Skepto Film festival Cagliari Italy Special Mention Award.Filmambiente film festival Signis Award,Best Short Film Award.Zanzibar film festival. Green Film Festival South Korea River film festival.Padova.Italy Kansk video Festival.Russia Fuencaliente Ruralfilmfest.Spain Matsalu Film festival Estonia Sir Charles Darwin film festival U.K Festival Cinema Africana De Verona Italy |
| 2011 | Viola | English | Golden Palm Award 2011 Mexico International Film Festival 2011 Lucerne international Film Festival |
| 2009 | Marathon | English | Award for Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay,New York Independent Film Festival 2010 |
| 2009 | Oshizemi | Japanese | Sadho Poetry Festival Dhaka International Film Festival |
| 2008 | Lorg | Irish | Dublin Film Festival New Jersey Film Festival Atlanta Film Festival |
| 2008 | Parwaaz | Urdu | Best Short Film Award, Patras Film Festival Greece Official Selection Stuttgart Film Festival Official Selection Indian Panorama Bosnia Film Festival Zimbabwe Film Festival |
| 2006 | Grand Festival | Hindi/English | Pusan International Film Festival New York South Asian Film Festival New Jersey Independent Film Festival Manila Film Festival Baja California Film Festival |
| 2001 | Dejavu | English | Locarno Film Festival Pusan International Film Festival Florence Film Festival Indian Panorama IFFK |
| 1998 | A Voyage | silent | Honorable Mention Zanzibar Film Festival Berlin Film Festival Hummadruz Los Angeles Film Festival Calcutta Film Festival |
References
- "Filmmaker makes Kerala proud". Khaleej Times. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- Zanzibar International Film Festival Retrieved 2017-12-30.
- "Indian pix at Locarno". Variety. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- "Awards of 8th International Panorama of Independent Filmakers". Archived from the original on 11 April 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- Mexico International Film Festival and Awards Retrieved 2017-12-30.
- http://www.skepto.net/en/film/shadow-tree
- "ZIFF 2014: The Winners". 22 June 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- "Awards - Feature Length Documentary". Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
- Rinku Gupta (11 February 2014). "Vijay Sethupathi's Maiden Production gets International Director". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6951286/awards?ref_=tt_awd