THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: 'Aavruthi', which portrayed the worries and anxieties of the inmates of a convent, was selected as the best film at Kaumudy Short Film Festival 2020. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a memento and a certificate. 'Aavruthi' also won the awards for best director (Sreeharidharman), best cinematography (Arun Sekhar) and best actress (Divyaprabha). The awards were decided by a jury comprising director Shyamaprasad (chairman), director Basil Joseph, cinematographer and director Sujith Vasudev and screenwriter and director Sethu.
'Mustaq Ali' directed by Rajesh Madhavan is the second-best film. The award consists of a cash prize of Rs 25,000, memento and certificate. Shiju Pavithran, who played the central character in the film, is the best actor. 'Choondal', directed by Jesvin Joseph, received a special mention. Bharat R. Shekhar, the cinematographer of the movie 'Pursuit,' also has a special mention. With 285,783 views on Youtube, 'Manju', directed by Gireesh K Nair, became the most popular film. The jury found that the short films were of high standard with their themes and technically advanced presentation style.