THOOTHKUDI: Panaiyeri, shot in a dense Palmyra grove in Thoothukudi, won the Best Short Film award at an international festival, which saw a total of 138 films in Tamil and Malayalam languages, conducted by Gulfcuts in Dubai.
The film was directed by Ganesh Moorthy based on a story written by Kalaimamani awardee Thamarai Senthurpandi, which sheds light on the importance of the 7.5% reservation for government school students from marginalised communities. Panaiyeri features actor DP Saravanan of Thisayanvilai, who is also the producer of the short film.
In its 7.36-minute-long screenplay, the short film depicts the lifestyle, hard work, and honesty of a Palmyra tree climber and his family. The plot underscores the value of ‘honesty in spite of being poor’. Saravanan played the lead role as the palm tree climber and palm juice (pathaneer) tapper, while Sindhuja played the role of his wife who makes palm jaggery in a shed at a dense palmyra grove at Adaikalapuram in Thoothukudi.
Sudalai, who plays the role of Saravanan’s son, clears the NEET exams. The short film revolves around the couple’s initial sadness over their financial insecurity that could have affected their son’s career, and their happiness after he gets admission at a government medical college
Saravanan told TNIE he is overjoyed that the film has bagged a prize in an international contest. He conceptualised “Panaiyeri” to be on the big screens, said Saravanan, who runs a printing press at Thisayanvilai.
Director Cheran, the award jury, announced the short film “Panaiyeri” as the winner of the Best Short Film award at the international short film festival conducted by Gulfcuts in Dubai. “Panaiyeri” had previously bagged the second prize in a short film contest at Arimuga Thirai in Palani, and the first prize in Digital awards in Madurai.