Karupy
| Karupy | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Kalainithan Kalaichelvan |
| Written by | Kalainithan Kalaichelvan |
| Produced by | Shaista Roshan Alison Almeida |
| Starring | Sumathy Balaram |
| Cinematography | Shady Hanna |
| Edited by | Jake Lee |
| Music by | Kalaisan Kalaichelvan |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 12 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Languages | English Tamil |
Karupy is a Canadian short drama film, directed by Kalainithan Kalaichelvan and released in 2025.[1] The film stars Sumathy Balaram as Karupy, the matriarch of a Tamil Canadian immigrant family who unexpectedly announces at her 65th birthday party that she is ready to die and intends to commit suicide that evening, setting off a chain reaction in the family dynamics as her family respond in various ways to the announcement.[2]
The cast also includes Ranjith Joseph, Smrithi Dhanasekar, UnniKannan S S, Arrthami Siva-Kuruvinth and Umeash Siva.
The film was made as Kalaichelvan's student project while studying at the Canadian Film Centre.[3] It had its genesis when he overheard his grandfather saying that he was simply waiting around to die,[1] leading him to write a story that explored Tamil culture's ambivalent relationship with expressing difficult emotions around subjects such as death.[3]
The film premiered in the Short Cuts program at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.[4]
Awards
[edit]| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2026 | Best Live Action Short Drama | Kalainithan Kalaichelvan, Shaista Roshan, Alison Almeida | Nominated | [5] |
| Best Performance in a Live Action Short Drama | Sumathy Balaram | Nominated | |||
| Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival | 2025 | Outstanding Performer in a Canadian Short Film | Won | [6] | |
| Canadian Screen Music Awards | 2026 | Best Original Score for a Short Film | Kalaisan Kalaichelvan | Pending | [7] |
References
[edit]- 1 2 Baisakhi Roy, "Kalainithan Kalaichelvan on Tamil identity, family secrets and his TIFF premiere". Canadian Immigrant, September 17, 2025.
- ↑ C.J. Prince, "10 Must-See Short Films at TIFF 2025". The Film Stage, September 2, 2025.
- 1 2 Nirris Nagendrarajah, "(TIFF 2025) “You Don’t Belong to Anyone: A Conversation on Kalainithan Kalaichelvan’s 𝐾𝑎𝑟𝑢𝑝𝑦” by Nirris Nagendrarajah & Kalainithan Kalaichelvan". CHA Journal, October 7, 2025.
- ↑ Melanie Goodfellow, "Idris Elba’s ‘Dust To Dreams’ Starring Seal Set To Premiere In TIFF Shorts + Full Lineup". Deadline Hollywood, August 7, 2025.
- ↑ "The 14th Canadian Screen Awards Nominations (2026)". The Canadian Film Reviewer, March 26, 2026.
- ↑ Andrew Tracy, "Montreal, My Beautiful wins best Canadian film prize at Reel Asian". Playback, November 6, 2025.
- ↑ Amber Dowling, "Middle Life, You’re Killing Me lead CASMA nominees". Playback, July 27, 2026.
External links
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