Manjummel Boys, a survival drama by writer-director Chidambaram, will be screened at the KinoBravo Film Festival. It is the sole Indian film in the competitive section this year and the first-ever Malayalam film to compete in the festival.
The festival, which takes place from September 28 to October 4, will also feature screenings of SS Rajamouli's RRR and Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light, winners of the Cannes Grand Prix, in the Out of Competition: Blockbuster Hits and Out of Competition: Festival Hits categories, respectively.
The true story of a group of young people from Manjummel, Kochi, who visit the Guna Caves, also known as Devil's Kitchen in Kodaikanal, is portrayed in Manjummel Boys, the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever made. After an accident, their outing turns into a devastating trip, the New Indian Express reported.
The film stars Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi, Deepak Parambol, Jean Paul Lal, Ganapathi, Balu Varghese, George Maryan, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, and Khalid Rahman, among others.
In addition to Chidambaram's writing and direction, the movie received high praise for its production design by Ajayan Chalissery, editing by Vivek Harshan, music by Sushin Shyam, and cinematography by Shyju Khalid. The creative use of the song "Kanmani Anbodu" from Kamal Haasan's 1991 film Gunaa was also highly appreciated.
Under the umbrella of Parava Films, Soubin Shahir, Babu Shahir, and Shawn Antony produced the movie.
The goal of KinoBravo, a mainstream film festival, is to present national blockbusters that have dominated box office receipts in their respective countries to a wider audience, as well as to promote these films in the Russian and global markets and foster international collaboration in the field of cinematography.
Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Film Music, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Editing are the nine categories in which prizes will be given out.
A multinational jury headed by Marco Müller, a film critic, historian, producer, artistic director of the Taormina International Film Festival, head of the Center for Film Studies at Shanghai University, and former director of the film festivals in Locarno, Rotterdam, Pesaro, Turin, Venice, and Rome, will judge the films.