Leena Manimekalai Age, Wiki and Bio

Leena Manimekalai

Quick Info

ProfessionFilmmaker, Poet, Actor
NationalityIndian
Date of Birth07/06/1980
Age44 years
BirthplaceSrivilliputtur, Tamil Nadu

Bio/Wiki

NicknameKaruvachi

Physical Stats & More

Height168 cm
Weight55 kg
Eye ColorBlack
Hair ColorBlack

Educational Qualification(s)

Education
  • B.E. in Instrumentation and Control Engineering
  • Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking

Personal Life

Religious viewsAtheist
CasteShudra
Food HabitNon-vegetarian
Political viewsPost ideology

Relationships & More

Sexual OrientationBisexual
Marital StatusDivorced
Husband/SpouseName Not Known

Family

FatherIragupathi (college professor)
MotherRama
Siblings
BrotherElango Raghupathy (filmmaker)

Career

Debut
Short Film (Tamil; As a director)Mathamma (2003)
Film (Tamil; As an actor)Chellamma (2004) as a protagonist
Awards/Honours/Achievements
  • 2004: 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
  • 2008: Golden Conch for Best International Documentary in Mumbai International Film Festival
  • 2008: Visiting Scholar Fellowship, Berlinale
  • 2008: One Billion Eyes National Award – Best Documentary
  • 2008: Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan, Birds Eye View Film Festival, London
  • 2008: Iyal Best Poetry Award from The Tamil Literary Garden for Ulakin Azhakiya Muthal Penn
  • 2011: Sirpi Literary Award for the contribution to Tamil Poetry
  • 2011: Indian Panorama Selections for Sengadal
  • 2011: NAWFF Award for Best Asian Women Cinema (Tokyo) for the film Sengadal
  • 2013: Lenin Award from Thamizh Studio
  • 2014: Srishti Tamil Lambda Literary Award for her book Antharakanni
  • 2015: L’Oreal Paris Femina Women Award
  • 2020: AIFF award for the film Maadathy, an Unfairy Tale (2019)

Some Lesser Known Facts

Leena faced allegations of offending Hindu beliefs due to the movie poster for 'Kaali.'
She avoided an arranged marriage and pursued a career in engineering.
After accusing director Susi of harassment, her passport was taken away.
Her works include films highlighting women's empowerment, caste issues, and LGBTQ rights.
Leena is involved in writing poetry and directing various short and feature films.

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