Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan presents the award to Suvarna Chakoram, a team member of director Sho Miyake’s Two Seasons, Two Strangers, during the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of Kerala at the Nishagandhi Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Kerala State Chalachitra Academy Chairman Resool Pookutty, Culture Minister Saji Cherian and General Education Minister V. Sivankutty are present. | Photo credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN
Japanese filmmaker Sho Miyake’s Two Seasons, Two Strangers, an introspective drama about the emotional upheavals of a screenwriter, won the Golden Crow Pheasant (Suvarna Chakoram) award for best film at the 30th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), which concluded here on Friday. The award carries a cash prize of ₹20 lakh, a memento and a certificate.
Argentinian filmmakers Carina Piazza and Lucía Bracelis won the Silver Crow (Rajatha Chakoram) Award for Best Director for Before the Body.
Directed by Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi, Shadowbox won the Silver Crow Bažant (Rajatha Chakoram) Award for Best Debut Director and also the Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI) KR Mohanan Award for Best Debut Director from India.
The Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) award for the best Asian film in the competition went to Cinema Jazireh directed by Gozde Kural.
Directed by Unnikrishnan Avala, Thanthapperu won the Jury Prize in the International Competition, the Audience Poll Award and the NETPAC Award for Best Malayalam Film. She shared the last prize with Khidki Gaav directed by Sanju Surendran. Khidki Gaav also won the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award for Best Film in International Competition.
The FIPRESCI Award for Best Malayalam Film by a Debut Director was won by Fazil Razak for Moham. Tillotama Shome received a Special Jury Mention for her performance in Shadowbox. Black Rabbit, White Rabbit, directed by Shahram Mokri, received special jury recognition for technical excellence.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan presents the Audience Poll Award for Best Film to director Unnikrishnan Aval and team members of ‘Life of a Phallus/Thanthapperu’ during the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of Kerala at Nishagandhi Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Kerala State Chalachitra Academy Chairman Resool Pookutty, Culture Minister Saji Cherian and General Education Minister V. Sivankutty are present. | Photo credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN
Ceremonial ending
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan presented the awards at the closing ceremony of the festival. Mr. Vijayan also presented the IFFK Lifetime Achievement Award to African filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako.
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, chairman of the jury, who is under threat of imprisonment in Iran for his creative efforts, was also honored at the ceremony. Filmmaker Saeed Akhtar Mirza was honored to complete 50 years in cinema.
“No place in India has such a huge history of cinema like Kerala. When this state honors me, it means a lot to me,” he said.
Published – 19 Dec 2025 20:47 IST
