IFFI 2019: Lijo Jose Pellissery Bags The Best Director Trophy For Jallikattu!

Lijo Jose Pellissery is unarguably one of the finest talents of contemporary Malayalam cinema. The filmmaker who rose to fame with some exceptional films has now won yet another accolade. Lijo Jose Pellissery has bagged the Best Director trophy at the International Film Festival Of India (IFFI 2019), for his latest outing Jallikattu.

The director was won the Silver Peacock award for the Best Director, at the closing ceremony of the 50th edition of the International Film Festival Of India. Lijo Jose Pellissery is winning the award for the second consecutive time. The director had bagged the Best Director award in 2018, at the 49th edition of IFFI for his acclaimed film Ee. Ma. Yau. Chemban Vinod Jose, the protagonist of Ee. Ma. Yau had won the Silver Peacock award for Best Actor.

French-Swiss co-produced film Particles won the Golden Peacock award for the Best Film in IFFI 2019. Seu George won the Silver Peacock award for the Best Actor (Male) for his performance in the Brazilian movie Marighella. Usha Jadav won the Best Actor (Female) award for the Marathi movie Mai Ghat: Crime No. 103/2005.

Jallikattu, which is one of the most celebrated films of the year, was screened at the various prestigious film festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival. The movie, which had the theatrical release in October, was also highly praised by the audiences for its exceptional making style, stunning visualisation, and technical brilliance.

The movie, which is set in a rural village of Idukki district, Kerala, features Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Shanthy Balachandran, Sabumon Abdusamad, Jaffar Idukki, etc., in the prominent roles. Girish Gangadharan has handled the cinematography. Prashant Pillai composed the music score. Jallikattu, which is based on the short story Maoist by S Hareesh, is scripted by the writer himself along with R Jayakumar.