Based in Kerala, India, Sanal Kumar Sasidharan is a Zoology and Law graduate who moved into the world of independent cinema in 2001. He co-formed the Kazhcha Film Forum to make independent movies through crowd funding, which enabled him to direct three short films and one feature film. His cinema cab initiative, the travelling cinema movement for promoting indie films in Kerala, has received much acclaim. As a director, his debut feature film Oraalppokkam (2014) won Best Director Award at the Kerala State Film Awards alongside FIPRESCI and NETPAC awards at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). His second film Ozhivudivasathe Kali (2015) won the Kerala State Film Awards’ Best Film prize and once again the FIPRESCI award at IFFK.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and emerging. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
