Leena Manimekalai
Encyclopedia
Leena Manimekalai is an India
n Filmmaker,Poet and actor based in Chennai
, Tamil Nadu
. She has nine documentary films and a feature film to her credits. She has acted in several of her movies and has published three anthologies of poems. She is also a much acclaimed street theatre artist. Kanavupattarai is her publication house through which she has published 25 titles on world cinema and literature. Her production house named Touring Talkies has a stronghold in the television production in South India. She had published Thirai, an alternative monthly film journal.
, India
. She lost her father Prof.Dr. R. Raghupathy at a very early age and was brought up by her mother Rama. She attended Kamaraj University, where she obtained a graduate degree in engineering.
In her quest to contribute and raring to go, she has penetrated her land, state and nationwide, screening her films in more than thousand and odd forums and spaces.Women Movements, Mass Movements, Dalit Movements, Grassroot NGO's , Civil Rights Societies, Educational Institutions, Film Societies, Film Festivals etc across the states have showed her films initiating a participatory dialogue and interventions.And she is able to relate across the line and cadre with humility and modesty having had the privilege of invitation screenings in international platforms and conferences across Unite States, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, South Africa, Kenya, Finland, Venezuela, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri lanka, Belgrade etc..
She has been recognized with participation, mentions and best film awards in many international and national film festivals. After a brief period as an apprentice Director with mainstream filmmakers and an extensive experience as a Television Producer and Anchor, she debuted in 2001 with the short documenatary film Mathamma. The 20-minute long docu-fiction is about devoting girl children to the deity, a practice prevalent among the Arundhatiyar community in Mangattucheri village near Arakkonam, Chennai. Her other films too deal with the issues of the marginalized. Parai is a film on violence against Dalit women. She is road with her films across thousands of villages serving her videos a tool for participatory dialogue with the masses on compelling issues.Break the Shackles is about the effects of globalisation on rural Tamil villages. Love Lost is about changing relationships in urban space. It is an experimental five-minute video poem from her anthology. Connecting Lines, which she did soon after she changed her style of film-making from "activistic" to "artistic", is about student politics in India and Germany. The documentary weaves through the student lives of four protagonists, two each in India and Germany. Waves After Waves explores how art rejuvenates the lives of children, devastated by the 2004 Tsunami at the coastal villages of Tamilnadu. Leena was inspired to do this project while she was serving as a volunteer in tsunami-hit regions of Tamil Nadu doing art therapy workshops for children. Altar is a documentary intervention on child marriage customs prevailing in the Kambalathu Naicker community in the central parts of Tamil Nadu. Goddesses follows the lives of three extraordinary women who go against norms to succeed in usually male-oriented careers: a fisherwoman, a gravedigger and a funeral singer. A Hole In The Bucket takes a look at the dynamics of water crisis in the city of Chennai in the context of families with different income levels. A Hole in the Bucket was showcased at International Water Symposium, Stockholm, 2007.
Her first feature film Sengadal
completed production in 2011. The film shows how the ethnic war in Sri Lanka had affected the lives of fishermen in Dhanushkodi. The censor board has initially refused clearance certificate to the film, stating that it made denigrating political remarks about the governments of Sri Lanka and India, and uses unparliamentary words.She had appealed to the Appellate Tribunal authorities and contested the case legally for several months and finally got it cleared by July 2011 without any cuts.
She has currently taken up a visual art fellowship with PSBT on Tamil Women Poetry and Desire through the ages of Sangam, Medieval and Modern periods. Her specialisation is on Media and Conflict resolution and she had been a European Union Scholar in art practice. She has Commonwealth Fellowship to her credits for Woman Cinema and is currently a Charles Wallace Scholar with School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Filmmaker,Poet and actor based in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. She has nine documentary films and a feature film to her credits. She has acted in several of her movies and has published three anthologies of poems. She is also a much acclaimed street theatre artist. Kanavupattarai is her publication house through which she has published 25 titles on world cinema and literature. Her production house named Touring Talkies has a stronghold in the television production in South India. She had published Thirai, an alternative monthly film journal.
Early life
Leena was born in Maharajapuram, Viudhunagar, Tamil NaduTamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. She lost her father Prof.Dr. R. Raghupathy at a very early age and was brought up by her mother Rama. She attended Kamaraj University, where she obtained a graduate degree in engineering.
Film career
Leena Manimekalai is an independent Filmmaker, Poet and an Actor. Her works include three published poetry anthologies and a dozen films in genres, documentary, fiction and experimental poem films.In her quest to contribute and raring to go, she has penetrated her land, state and nationwide, screening her films in more than thousand and odd forums and spaces.Women Movements, Mass Movements, Dalit Movements, Grassroot NGO's , Civil Rights Societies, Educational Institutions, Film Societies, Film Festivals etc across the states have showed her films initiating a participatory dialogue and interventions.And she is able to relate across the line and cadre with humility and modesty having had the privilege of invitation screenings in international platforms and conferences across Unite States, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, South Africa, Kenya, Finland, Venezuela, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri lanka, Belgrade etc..
She has been recognized with participation, mentions and best film awards in many international and national film festivals. After a brief period as an apprentice Director with mainstream filmmakers and an extensive experience as a Television Producer and Anchor, she debuted in 2001 with the short documenatary film Mathamma. The 20-minute long docu-fiction is about devoting girl children to the deity, a practice prevalent among the Arundhatiyar community in Mangattucheri village near Arakkonam, Chennai. Her other films too deal with the issues of the marginalized. Parai is a film on violence against Dalit women. She is road with her films across thousands of villages serving her videos a tool for participatory dialogue with the masses on compelling issues.Break the Shackles is about the effects of globalisation on rural Tamil villages. Love Lost is about changing relationships in urban space. It is an experimental five-minute video poem from her anthology. Connecting Lines, which she did soon after she changed her style of film-making from "activistic" to "artistic", is about student politics in India and Germany. The documentary weaves through the student lives of four protagonists, two each in India and Germany. Waves After Waves explores how art rejuvenates the lives of children, devastated by the 2004 Tsunami at the coastal villages of Tamilnadu. Leena was inspired to do this project while she was serving as a volunteer in tsunami-hit regions of Tamil Nadu doing art therapy workshops for children. Altar is a documentary intervention on child marriage customs prevailing in the Kambalathu Naicker community in the central parts of Tamil Nadu. Goddesses follows the lives of three extraordinary women who go against norms to succeed in usually male-oriented careers: a fisherwoman, a gravedigger and a funeral singer. A Hole In The Bucket takes a look at the dynamics of water crisis in the city of Chennai in the context of families with different income levels. A Hole in the Bucket was showcased at International Water Symposium, Stockholm, 2007.
Her first feature film Sengadal
Sengadal
Sengadal is the first full length feature film of Leena Manimekalai, who also stars in the film. Several local actors form the rest of the cast. Produced by Janaki Sivakumar under the banner of Tholl Paavai Theatres, the film features cinematography by M. J. Radhakrishnan and editing by Sreekar...
completed production in 2011. The film shows how the ethnic war in Sri Lanka had affected the lives of fishermen in Dhanushkodi. The censor board has initially refused clearance certificate to the film, stating that it made denigrating political remarks about the governments of Sri Lanka and India, and uses unparliamentary words.She had appealed to the Appellate Tribunal authorities and contested the case legally for several months and finally got it cleared by July 2011 without any cuts.
She has currently taken up a visual art fellowship with PSBT on Tamil Women Poetry and Desire through the ages of Sangam, Medieval and Modern periods. Her specialisation is on Media and Conflict resolution and she had been a European Union Scholar in art practice. She has Commonwealth Fellowship to her credits for Woman Cinema and is currently a Charles Wallace Scholar with School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Filmography as director
| Year | Title | Duration | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Mathamma | 20 mins | Documentary |
| 2004 | Parai | 45 mins | Documentary |
| 2004 | Break the Shackles | 50 mins | Documentary |
| 2004 | Love Lost' | 5 mins | Video Poem |
| 2005 | Connecting Lines | Documentary | |
| 2005 | Altar | Documentary | |
| 2006 | Waves After Waves | Documentary | |
| 2007 | A Hole in the Bucket | Documentary | |
| 2008 | Goddesses | Documentary | |
| 2011 | Sengadal | Feature Fiction |
Filmography as actor
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Length | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Chellamma | Protagonist | Sivakumar | 90 mins | Feature fiction |
| 2005 | Love Lost | Protagonist | Leena Manimekalai | 5 mins | Video Poem |
| 2004 | The White Cat | Female Protagonist | Sivakumar | 10 mins | Short Fiction |
| 2011 | Sengadal the Dead Sea | Female Protagonist | Leena Manimekalai | 102 mins | Feature Fiction |
Poem collections
| Year | Original Title | English Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Ottrailaiyena | As a Lone Leaf |
| 2009 | Ulakin Azhakiya Muthal Penn | The First Beautiful Woman in the World |
| 2011 | Parathaiyarul Raani | Queen of Sluts |
Awards and achievements
- 2004: Retro - Ethnographic Montages, Chicago Women in Director's Chair International Film Festival
- 2004: Silver Trophy for the Best Documentary in Europe Movies Film Festival
- 2005: Best Actor and Best Experimental Video in Independent Art Film Festival
- 2005: Best Documentary in Paris and Norway Independent Diaspora Festivals
- 2005: European Union Fellowship for Conflict Resolution in Media
- 2005: Retrospective, International Democratic Socialist Youth Film Festival, Venezuela
- 2006: International Jury in Asian Film Festival, Malaysia
- 2007: Jury Award for Best Cinema of Resistance - John Abraham National Award
- 2008: Golden Conch for Best International Documentary in Mumbai International Film FestivalMumbai International Film FestivalMumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films , is a festival organised in the city of Mumbai by the 'Film Division', Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India. It has been organised since 1990, and focuses on documentary, short and animation...
- 2008: Visiting Scholor Fellowship, Berlinale
- 2008: Nomination to Horizon Award, Munich International Film Festival
- 2008: Nomination - Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Brisbane
- 2008: One Billion Eyes National Award - Best Documentary
- 2008: Commonwealth Fellowship, Birds Eye View Film Festival, London
- 2008: Iyal Best Poetry Award for Ulakin Azhakiya Muthal Penn
- 2011: Sirpi Literary Award for the contribution to Tamil Poetry