Don Palathara

Don Palathara is a film director, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker from Kerala, India. Known for working on shoestring budgets and new or inexperienced actors, his films are expositions of local Kerala culture. Palathara's film, Shavam, gained accolades at several international film festivals, most notably winning the best foreign film at the Barni International Festival in Moscow.[1]

Don Palathara
Born
Don Chacko Palathara

(1986-08-22) 22 August 1986
Kerala, India
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2015-present

Early life

Don Palathara was born and raised in Kerala, India.[2] He subsequently migrated to Sydney, Australia, where he received a diploma from the Academy of Film, Theatre and Television in Sydney, which was formerly known as the International Film School Sydney, before its merger with Actors College of Theatre and Television.[3][4]

Career

Palathara made several short films and documentaries, before venturing into feature films.[5] In 2015, his first movie, Shavam was released. Made on a small budget, the film was noted for his atypical filmmaking choices, as it was made entirely in black and white, used location recording of sound (unusual for Indian movies), and a large number of inexperienced actors.[6] When asked why he chose to make the feature in black and white, Palathara explained that it was intended to draw focus to every aspect of the screen and to emphasize the morbidity of the movie. The choice of deep focus and wide shots were for the same reason.[7] The film, which is a satire exploring aspects of human character and set at the scene of a funeral, was well received in international film festivals, and garnered positive responses locally as well.[8] When the film was released, it was distributed using Kazhcha Film Forum's Cinema Vandi, an alternative film distribution mechanism, and thus was not subject to censorship by the Central Board of Film Certification.[9][10] Currently, Shavam is streaming on Netflix.[11]

In 2017, Palathara wrote, directed, produced, and edited his second feature film, Vith. The movie was financed through crowdfunding platforms, including Kickstarter and from the proceeds of Shavam, a method of film finance rapidly gaining popularity amongst younger filmmakers.[12][13] The film is about the relationship between a farmer and his formerly city-based son, and their differing approaches to life.[14]

During the development of Vith, Palathara designed a film making workshop for aspiring enthusiasts, also crowdfunded. He organized classes on the different aspects of filmmaking, including cinematography and scripting, roping in other parallel cinema filmmakers.[15]

His next film, 1956, Central Travancore, was released in 2019, and was screened at the Film Bazaar in Goa.[4][16][17]

Filmography
Year(s) Title Director Producer Editor Writer
2015 Shavam Yes No No Yes
2017 Vith Yes Yes Yes Yes
2019 1956, Madhyathiruvithamkoor Yes No Yes Yes

Savam-Ee Ma Yau controversy

A minor controversy erupted between Palathara and Lijo Jose Pelissery, another Indian filmmaker from Kerala, when the former accused the latter of copying Shavam in an emotional Facebook post.[18] Pelissery later brushed off the claims, saying that both Ee Ma Yau and Shavam just happened to be about Christian funerals.[19]

gollark: Slightly.
gollark: *prefers functional programming*
gollark: That is a good reflection of my thoughts on OOP, though.
gollark: Yes, well.
gollark: Actually, OOP stands for object oriented programming.

References
  1. "Award winning Malayalam film 'Shavam' by Don Palathara now streams in Netflix". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  2. "Vith". tao films – The art of film. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  3. "The International Film School Sydney is now known as AFTT".
  4. Menon, Anasuya (2 August 2019). "The story of a people's psyche". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  5. "Preview of Shavam on Saturday". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  6. Gopalakrishnan, Aswathy (7 August 2017). "Spirit At A Funeral: Indie Filmmaker Don Palathara's 'Shavam' Peeks Into A Grief-Stricken Family". Silverscreen.in. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  7. Aswini (8 December 2015). "മരണവീട്ടില്‍ പോയാല്‍ നിങ്ങളെങ്ങനെയാണ്, അങ്ങനെയാണ് 'ശവം'" (in Malayalam). Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  8. "ശവം - മരണവീടിന്‍റെ മരണഡോക്യുമെന്‍റേഷൻ". Samayam Malayalam (in Malayalam). 29 November 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  9. "Shavam, far from a lifeless affair". The Hindu. Special Correspondent. 26 November 2015. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 June 2019.CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. M.K, Nidheesh (19 March 2018). "'S Durga' makers to crowdsource screenings in Kerala". Livemint. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  11. "Award winning Malayalam film 'Shavam' by Don Palathara now streams in Netflix". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  12. "Don Palathara's Vith is built on the conflict". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  13. Shekar, Anjuna (28 May 2018). "Crowdfunding a dream". www.thenewsminute.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  14. "Vith". Filmocracy Foundation. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  15. cris (4 January 2017). "Workshop on independent filmmaking". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  16. Reporter, Staff (5 November 2019). "Don Palathara's period movie selected for Film Bazaar". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  17. "Don Palathara's 1956, Central Travancore heads to Goa". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  18. "'അവിടെ ചിക്കന്‍കറി, ഇവിടെ താറാവ് കറി..'; 'ഈ.മ.യൗവിന് 'ശവ'വുമായുള്ള സാമ്യം പറഞ്ഞ് സംവിധായകന്‍". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  19. "I found his claim to be comical: Lijo Jose Pellisery's response to plagiarism charges". fullpicture.in. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
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