The documentary Penntholpavakoothu - Challenging Patriarchal Shadows by Onmanorama, the English news portal of Malayala Manorama group, won the Best Short Documentary Award at the Seventh Art Independent Film Festival held in Thiruvananthapuram. The award was handed over to directors, Susan Joe Philip, Assistant Producer, Onmanorama and Athira Madhav at a ceremony held at Mar Ivanios College on Thursday.

Penntholpavakoothu shows the life and journey of female tholpaavakoothu artistes from Koonanthara, Palakkad. "The documentary was selected by the jury as it stood out with its making style. We chose the documentary from around 150 entries we received," said Venu Nair, festival director.

Susan
Susan Joe Philip and Athira Madhav. Photo: Special Arrangement

A total of 24 films from around the world were screened in the fest from September 19 to 21. The Redemption directed by Hali Welly won the best feature film. La Pietra directed by Nikita Hattangady bagged the best short film. The best feature documentary is Life in Loom by Edmond Ranson.

The jury included Venu, Shamil Aliyev, Bouhaik Yassin, Rajat C Kumar, Shyam Sunder and Sadasivan Neelakantan.

The short documentary was edited by Alex Pappachan and cinematography by Susan and Athira. Jinse Michael, photographer, Malayala Manorama, handled the second camera.

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