Rajiv Vijay Raghavan

Rajiv Vijay Raghavan[2] was born on 29 May 1958 in Kottayam, Kerala, South-western India as the son of Mrs. Remani and Mr. K. Ramarajan Nair. He was active in politics and literature in his college days at Kottayam and was a council member of the University Students Union of Kerala University during 1977–78. After graduating in Commerce from the University of Kerala he joined the Film & TV Institute of India, Pune, during 1979–81. Rajiv took a job in Canara Bank on 1981 and worked there for 10 years. In the meantime, he closely acquainted with G. Aravindan, the renowned Indian Filmmaker and Cartoonist and assisted him in 6 feature films during 1981–1991. Rajiv's debut documentary film, Sister Alphonsa of Bharananganam,1986 which portrays the life and grace of Saint Alphonsa (Sister Alphonsa then) had won the National Film Award for the best biographical documentary.[3][4] After resigning from Canara Bank he worked as Producer in Centre for Development of Imaging Technology, Kerala (C-DIT) during 1991-98 and made some of the notable film/video documentaries such as Kesari, 1992, Ruin of the Commons, 1993, Nirmithi,1994 and Seeds of Malabar, 1996 that were widely shown and discussed because of their unique style and socio political importance. On 2003, under the banner of Image commune, a collective founded for the sake of promoting the art of filmmaking beyond industry, Rajiv made his milestone film, Margam (film) (The Path). Rajiv married to Dr.Miek (Marie-Jan Hubertine) Cornips from 1989. He has two daughters: Miny and Naomi. Nowadays, he is a resident both in Geleen, Maastricht, Netherlands and in Trivandrum, Kerala, India and working on his new feature film Aalayam (The Abode), a scenario he co-wrote with Anvar Ali and Dr. S P Ramesh.

Assistant Director of Sri. G. Aravindan[5] in 6 feature films during 1981–91. Directed 9 documentaries and short films including Sister Alphonsa of Bharananganam,1987[6][7] (Produced by Dejo Kappen and George Sebastian under the Banner, Divya Chaithanya), People Matter-Women’s rights in India, 1988 (United Nation-40 years of Human Rights Declaration), Kesari, 1992 Mumbai International Film Festival, Ruin of the Commons, 1993 [ Centre for Development of Imaging Technology(C-DIT) production - Kerala State TV documentary award], Nirmithi,1994 (C-DIT - Kerala State TV documentary award), Seeds of Malabar, 1996 (C-DIT - Kerala State TV documentary award) and Building the Bridge - a story of Gender equity, 2000 (World Water conference, The Hague, Netherlands 2000). Feature Film: Margam (film) (the path), 108 minutes, colour, 2003.

Sister Alphonsa of Bharananganam is about a nun from Kerala who would've been declared the first Catholic Saint from India in 2009. While this film conceived and materialized by the young filmmaker during 1985–86, Saint Alphonsa (natively known as Alfonsamma) was only a blessed nun as per the norms of Catholic Church though she was famous among the Christian community across Kerala. The print of the film was recovered a few days before the declaration ceremony in Rome and was screened during the holy event.[9]

Margam (film)(the path), Rajiv's debut feature film is an adaptation of Pithrutharppanam, the famous story by M. Sukumaran. The film bagged 7 major Kerala State Film Awards[10] of the Government of Kerala and one National Film Award[11] of the Government of India for the year 2003. Margam (film), one of the rarest Malayalam films that received wider critical acclaim at international level,[12] participated in 16 international film festivals and won 6 international awards in different categories including best film and scripting. The Script co-written by Rajiv Vijay Raghavan, Anvar Ali and Dr. S P Ramesh, Cinematography by Venu and the roles performed by Nedumudi Venu and Meera Krishna were also widely appreciated.[13]

The Film Festivals Participated

• International Film Festival of Kerala, India (December 2003)[14]
• Fribourg International Film Festival, Switzerland (March 2004)[15]
• Common Wealth Film Festivals, Manchester, GB (May 2004)
• Durban International Film Festival, South Africa (June 2004)
• Zanzibar International Film Festival, Tanzania (June–July 2004)[16]
• Osians' Cine-fan, New Delhi, India (July 2004)
• The First South-South Film encounter, Assilah, Morocco (August 2004)[17]
• Montreal World Film Festival, Canada (September 2004)
• International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg, Germany (November 2004)
• Three Continents' Film Festival, Nantes, France (November 2004)
• International Film Festival of India, Goa, India (December 2004)
• Fajr International Film Festival, Tehran, Iran (February 2005)[18]
• South Indian Film Festival, KIT, Amsterdam, Netherlands (March 2005)
• Cine Pobre Film Festival,[19][20] Gibara, Cuba (Opening film of the Festival, April 2005)
• Calgary International Film Festival, Canada (May 2005)
• Batumi International Film Festival, Georgia (October 2006)

Special Screenings

• Atlanta High Museum, US
• Cornell University, US

Awards & Recognition

• Fipresci Special Mention-International Film Critics Prize (IFFK, Kerala, India)
• 'Golden Dhow'-Best film (Zanzibar)[21]
• 'Golden Waves'-Best Script (Assilah, Morocco)[22]
• 'Crystal Simorgh'-Best Asian script (Fajr, Tehran)
• Special Jury Award, Award for the Best Actor and Opening film (Cine Pobre Film Festival,[23][24] Cuba)
• 'Golden Lotus' and Indira Gandhi Award for the best Debut Film of the year 2003 (Indian National Film Awards)[25]
• Kerala State Film awards, 2003, for the Best Film, Script, Actor, Cinematography, Music, Sound and the Special jury prize for the Actress.[26]

• IMDB