Pebbles (film)

Pebbles
Poster
Directed by	P. S. Vinothraj
Screenplay by	P. S. Vinothraj Vignesh Kumulai
Produced by	Vignesh Shivan Nayanthara
Starring	Chellapandi Karuththadaiyaan
Cinematography	Vignesh Kumulai Jeya Parthipan
Edited by	Ganesh Siva
Music by	Yuvan Shankar Raja
Production company	Rowdy Pictures
Release date	4 February 2021 (2021-02-04) (Rotterdam)
Running time	75 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Pebbles (Tamil: Koozhangal) is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by debutant P. S. Vinothraj.^[1] The film was produced by Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara under the Rowdy Pictures banner.^[2] Featuring music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, the film had cinematography handled by Jeya Parthipan and Vignesh Kumulai and was edited by Ganesh Siva.

Pebbles was screened at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam held in Netherlands on 4 February 2021, where it received the Tiger Award at the festival.^[3] It was selected as the Indian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.^[4][5] and was also screened at the 52nd International Film Festival of India in 'Indian Panorama' section, feature film category.^[6][7]

The central theme of the movie is about retrieval. A father seeks to retrieve his wife. The son who accompanies him seeks to retain his childhood. The mother who remains unseen in the movie seeks to retrieve some water.

Plot

An angry man barges into a school to retrieve his son. He takes the boy out of school and they get on a bus to the neighboring village. It turns out the mother has left them and gone back to her mothers house and that is where the son and father are headed. When the pair reach the village it turns out the mother left early in the morning back to her husband's house. The husband fights with his wife's family and threatens to kill the wife upon going back to his house. The son tears up the paper money they have to prevent the father from going back by bus. So they walk back towards their village in the afternoon heat. During the walk the son loses a few things and finds a few things such as a pebble and a puppy. The father experiences comes across certain elements that he can't explain. It makes him question his own mortality and dents his bravado. By the time they have reached home the father is worn out. The father learns that the mother has gone to fetch water. He sits down to eat that his wife has prepared for him. The son lets his baby sister play with his new puppy and places the new pebble on top of his collections of pebbles.^[8]

Cast

• Chellapandi as Velu^[9]
• Karuththadaiyaan as Ganapathy^[9]

Production

The story of the film is based on a real incident of director Vinothraj's family which inspired him to direct the film.^[10] Vinoth stated that he spent a lot of time looking for an arid landscape, which was required for the story and was finally found in Arittapati, near Melur in Madurai. The whole film was shot at Arittapati in 30 days.^[10] The mountains in the 13 villages where the film was shot are thousands of years old and the villages which Vinoth explored, as a part of the story, too developed on its own. The biggest challenge of shooting the film is mostly the humid weather, for which he stated that "As sunlight was crucial for the story, we would start shooting every day after 10am and wind up by 3pm. We would watch the rushes in the evening and that would give us the motivation for the next day."^[10][11]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 11 critics' reviews are positive.^[12]

S. Srivatsan of The Hindu wrote in his review stating "There has never been a Tamil film that has captured the vastness of rural life in a more austere, art-house fashion. PS Vinothraj knows what are all the basics of filmmaking that is lacking, even in the works of celebrated filmmakers."^[9] Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote "Despite the many tragedies in the scenario (both natural and man-made), the film doesn't beg for our sympathies. Only at the very end do we feel a twinge."^[13]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref(s)
Asian Film Awards	8 October 2021	Best New Director	P.S. Vinothraj	Nominated	[14]
Asia Pacific Screen Awards	11 November 2021	Achievement in Directing		Nominated	[15]
		Achievement in Cinematography	Vignesh Kumulai and Jeya Parthipan	Nominated
International Film Festival Rotterdam	22 June 2021	Tiger Award	P.S. Vinothraj	Won	[3]
Independent Spirit Awards	6 March 2022	Best International Film	Pebbles	Nominated	[16]
South Indian International Movie Awards	10th South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Debut Producer (Tamil)	Koozhangal	Nominated	[17]

Awards

Pebbles was premiered at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam held in Netherlands on 4 February 2021.^[18] The film was officially selected at the North American premiere of New Directors New Films Festival which held on 28 April to 8 May,^[19] and also selected at the Jeonju International Film Festival held in South Korea from 29 April to 8 May.^[20] The film was also screened at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles held on 20 to 27 May,^[21] and at the Kyiv Molodist International Film Festival held from 29 May to 6 June.^[22] Pebbles is India's official entry to Oscars 2022. 14 films were shortlisted for this year's India's official entry to the Oscars 2022. Among the 14 films were Nayattu, Mandela, and Sardar Udham. Shaji N Karun, the chairperson of the 15-member selection committee watched the 14 films in Kolkata. Reportedly, the decision to select Pebbles for the Oscars 2022 was unanimous.^[23] However, the film was not nominated for the award.^[24]

See also

• List of submissions to the 94th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
• List of Indian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

References

1. Meza, Ed (7 February 2021). "Indian Drama 'Pebbles,' Argentina's 'The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet' Win Top Rotterdam Awards fear". Variety. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
2. "Vignesh Shivan's next production is Koozhangal in Yuvan's music". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
3. Roxborough, Scott (7 February 2021). "'Pebbles' Wins Top Honor at 2021 Rotterdam Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
4. "Oscars: Tamil film 'Koozhangal' will represent India in the international feature film category". Scroll.in. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
5. "India's official entry to Oscars, Tamil film Koozhangal, out of the race". The News Minute. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
6. "Indian Panorama Announces Official Selection for 52nd IFFI, 2021". PIB GOI. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021 – via Press release.
7. "Koozhangal (Pebbles) To Premiere on Sony Liv on This Date". Film Companion. 20 October 2023.
8. "Pebbles | IFFR". iffr.com. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
9. S, Srivatsan (4 February 2021). "'Koozhangal' movie review: A sensational debut from PS Vinothraj that is evocative, visceral and powerful". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
10. Menon, Thinkal. "Vinothraj on Koozhangal winning at IFFR". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
11. "I don't corner my characters, only place them in context: 'Koozhangal' director Vinodhraj". New Indian Express. 15 November 2023.
12. "Pebbles - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
13. "Rotterdam 2021: PS Vinothraj Makes A Stunning Debut With Koozhangal (Pebbles), A Father-Son 'Road Movie'". Film Companion. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
14. "The Asian Film Awards Academy (Academy) today announced the finalists for the 15th Asian Film Awards". Asian Film Awards Academy. AFA. 9 September 2021. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
15. Valerie Complex (12 October 2021). "Asia Pacific Screen Academy Announces Nominees For 14th Annual Awards Ceremony". Deadline. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
16. Neglia, Matt (14 December 2021). "The 2022 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations". NextBestPicture. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
17. "SIIMA 2022: Check full list of winners". Deccan Herald. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
18. "Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan attend 'Koozhangal' premier at Rotterdam film festival". The News Minute. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
19. Rowdy Pictures Pvt Ltd [@Rowdy_Pictures] (27 April 2021). "With your support our film #Koozhangal has won yet another feather to it's [sic] hat! Thanks for helping us out and sticking around despite the tough time! Much love to you all ❤️❤️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
20. Rowdy Pictures Pvt Ltd [@Rowdy_Pictures] (30 April 2021). "Another day, another laurel! So grateful for the recognition this film has been receiving" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
21. "Rowdy Pictures's Instagram profile post: "And we are on! So grateful for all this overwhelming response ❤️ #stayhomestaysafe #rowdypictures #koozhangal #IFFLA2021 #rotterdam…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
22. "Rowdy Pictures (@therowdypictures) posted on Instagram: "Sky is the limit ✨ #stayhomestaysafe #rowdypictures #molodistfilmfestival #koozhangal #IFFLA2021 #rotterdam…" • May 29, 2021 at 7:49am UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
23. "Tamil film 'Koozhangal' is India's official entry to the Oscars 2022". The Hindu. 23 October 2021.
24. "PS Vinothraj's Koozhangal out of Oscars race". Times of India. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

External links

• Pebbles at IMDb