Malayalam movie ‘2018’ out of Oscars race, Jude Anthany Joseph apologises to his supporters

Directed by Jude Anthany Joseph, 2018-Everyone is a Hero entered the elite ₹100-crore club in Malayalam. But the movie couldn’t impress the Oscar committee.

Before 2018, Malayalam films Guru (1997), Adaminte Makan Abu (2011), and Jallikattu (2019) were chosen as India’s official entry for the Oscars. But these films too were not nominated.

Only 15 films advanced to the next round in the Best International Feature Film category.

The shortlisted films include Amerikatsi (Armenia), The Monk and the Gun (Bhutan); The Promised Land (Denmark); Fallen Leaves (Finland); The Taste of Things (France); The Teachers’ Lounge (Germany); Godland (Iceland), lo Capitano (Italy), Perfect Days (Japan), Totem (Mexico), The Mother of All Lies (Morocco), Society of the Snow (Spain), Four Daughters (Tunisia), 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine) and The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom).

In the Best Documentary category, To Kill A Tiger — based on the Jharkhand gangrape case — has been shortlisted. It is directed by Toronto-based documentary director Nisha Pahuja.

Related: Malayalam film ‘2018’ is India’s official entry for Oscars 2024

2018

2018-Everyone is a Hero is based on the deadly floods that affected Kerala in the year 2018.

Released on 5 May, the movie had an ensemble cast. including Tovino Thomas, Asif Ali, Kunchako Boban, Lal, Narain, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Aparna Balamurali, and Tanvi.

Jude Anthany Joseph succeeded in recreating the Kerala floods and gave a horrifying picture of the floods that affected Kerala badly.

However, the movie received criticism as the efforts made by the state government were not showcased in it.

The art department was hugely appreciated for recreating the set in Kochi.

2018-Everyone is a Hero was produced by Venu Kunnappilly, CK Padma Kumar and Anto Joseph under the banner of Kavya Film Company and PK Prime Productions.