6th annual Film Critics Circle of India Citation Award (2021)

For the Best Indian Film censored in 2020, or uncensored and publicly exhibited anywhere in the world in 2020

The NOMINATIONS to date for the FCCI Award for the Best Indian Film of the Year

Kautik International Film Festival, INDIA | 2020

FCCI Jury: Meghachandra Kongbam (chair), Amborish Roychoudhury, & S. Viswanath

FCCI Award for Best Student Film

Zahra Kababian & Amir Mahdi Safdari’s WINTER MEMORIES (Iran)

Flora Nakazone’s DRIFT  (Brazil)

Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati, USA | 2020

FCCI Jury: Anil Zankar (chair), Utpal Datta, & Amborish Roychoudhury

FCCI Award for Best Debut Feature | Kislay’s AISE HI

FCCI Special Mention — Debut Feature | Prateek Vats’ EEB ALLAY OOO!

FCCI Award for Best Short Fiction | Atanu Mukherjee’s WIG

Le Festival des Films Indiens de Toulouse, FRANCE | 2019

FCCI jury: Baradwaj Rangan (Chair), Deepa Gahlot, Gautam Kaul, Johnson Thomas, & Ratnottama Sengupta

FCCI Award for Best Debut Feature | Mari Selvaraj’s PARYIYERUM PERUMAL

One of the primary objectives of the Film Critics Circle of India (FCCI) is to encourage the production of cinema of high artistic and aesthetic value, chiefly through the institution of the FCCI Awards.

5th annual Film Critics Circle of India Citation Award (2020)

For the Best Indian Film censored in 2019, or uncensored and publicly exhibited anywhere in the world in 2019

In total, 33 Film Critics from all over India cast their vote.

The films that were in nomination

4th annual Film Critics Circle of India Citation Award (2019)

For the Best Indian Film censored in India in 2018 and/or released anywhere in the world in 2018

A total of 23 Film Critics from all over India cast their vote.

Here’s what a few Members of the Jury have to say:

“With its ensemble cast, energetic storytelling, fluid camera work and tongue-in-cheek look at religion, society and relationships, Ee.Maa.Yau creates a moody yet satirical portrait of life.”

   –Utpal Borpujari

“Upsets the postcards of a seaside village by unleashing the long take and emotionally charged non-stars, simulating actual lighting, and situating the primary focus on have-nots desiring the glory of wants; to serve the purpose of the neorealist church.

“Lijo Jose Pellissery’s morbid satire is the extension of an experimental/versatile body of work that pioneered and continues to represent the so-termed new-gen cinema of Malayalam.”

   –Dalton

“Superbly orchestrated rumination on life and death in a coastal Kerala village, where the follies and foibles of mankind, the workings of fate and the manifestations of grief are portrayed in a manner that is both culturally specific and universally resonant.”

   –Saibal Chatterjee

“Brilliant and faithful portrayal of a fishing village near Cochin, exposing the inhuman practices of the church and the helpessness of the downtrodden in a so-called civilized society.”

   –Madhu Eravankara

“With a gripping narrative style, Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Ee.Ma.Yau is a brilliantly portrayed film on death that reveals a range of symbolic implications, with a touch of humour and an almost obsessive concern with human mortality. The death of the old man Vavachan mestri, his son Eeshi’s promise to his father to have a grand funeral and the subsequent dramas are a reflection of our dreams and disenchantments, our hopes and disillusionments.”

   –Parthajit Baruah

“Deserves kudos for its sincerity in enacting a funeral drama that looks at sub-altern realities in a rural Keralite backdrop with the sea and Christianity forming layers of cinematic significance.”

   –Manoj Barpujari

The films that were nominated

3rd annual Film Critics Circle of India Citation Award (2018)

For the Best Indian Film censored in India in 2017 and/or released anywhere in the world in 2017

“A milestone film of sorts, Village Rockstars epitomises the trials and tribulations, and heralds the coming of age, of a filmmaker, of her protagonist, and of the indie film movement in India.”

   –Dalton

“Rima Das’ film is a lyrical montage of life and times in contemporary rural India. It subtly draws attention to complex gender issues – sometimes even subverting the conventional gender norms – without ever getting preachy. Bhanita Das – the pint-sized fiery ball of lovable energy – is endearingly natural. But just when one fears that the film might become schmaltzy, the film-maker takes control. The lens speaks volumes, sometimes conveying more than the dialogues. Such a work by a first-time director holds a lot of promise for Indian cinema.”

   –Priyanka Dasgupta

“A women’s journey into the heart of the matter.”

   –Prem Chand

Nominations

2nd annual Film Critics Circle of India Citation Award (2017)

For the Best Indian Film released in India in 2016 and/or released outside India in 2016

1st annual Film Critics Circle of India Citation Award (2016)

For the best Indian film theatrically released in India in 2015