P.S. Vinothraj’s critically acclaimed Tamil drama movie ‘Koozhangal’ aka ‘Pebbles’ (international title) has been in the news for all the right reasons. First, it bagged the Tiger award at the 2021 edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam earlier this year. Thereafter, the film was selected as India’s official entry for the 2022 Oscars. Besides, it was also screened last month at the prestigious International Film Festival of India.
After all these accolades, ‘Pebbles’ has now achieved yet another feat. The film has been nominated for the ‘Best International Film’ category at the 2022 instalment of the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which is scheduled to be presented on 6th March 2022 in California, USA. The Indie Spirit Awards honour the best of the independent films and television content.
During last year’s 2021 edition of the Independent Spirit Awards, another globally admired Indian film – Chaitanya Tamhane’s ‘The Disciple’ was nominated as the best international film. However, the award was eventually bagged by the Bosnian war film ‘Quo Vadis, Aida’.
This time, the competition is apparently tougher amongst international film award contenders at the 2022 Indie Spirit Awards. ‘Pebbles’ would be vying for the coveted honour alongside ‘Compartment No.6’ (winner of Grand Prix at Cannes), another Cannes winner – Japanese film ‘Drive My Car’, Spanish drama ‘Parallel Mothers’, French fantasy ‘Petite Maman’, and Mexican drama ‘Prayers for the Stolen’ (Cannes Special Mention awardee). Moreover, this year, there are six nominees instead of five.
Can ‘Pebbles’ win the ‘Best International Film’ award at the forthcoming Film Independent Spirit Awards is obviously a matter of speculation. But considering the film’s critical appreciation and the aforementioned accolades, extrapolation suggests that the Indian film ‘Pebbles’ certainly has a decent chance to achieve what ‘The Disciple’ could not last year.