Adoor Gopalakrishnan extended the Indian New Wave to Malayalam cinema with his maiden feature film '' Swayamvaram '' in 1972 . Long after the Golden Age of Indian cinema , Malayalam cinema experienced its own ' Golden Age ' in the 1980s and early 1990s . Some of the most acclaimed Indian filmmakers at the time were from the Malayalam industry , including Adoor Gopalakrishnan , K. P. Kumaran , G. Aravindan , John Abraham , Padmarajan , Bharathan , T. V. Chandran and Shaji N. Karun . Gopalakrishnan , who is often considered to be Satyajit Ray 's spiritual heir , directed some of his most acclaimed films during this period , including '' Elippathayam '' ( 1981 ) which won the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival , as well as '' Mathilukal '' ( 1989 ) which won major prizes at the Venice Film Festival . Shaji N. Karun 's debut film '' Piravi '' ( 1989 ) won the Camera d'Or at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival , while his second film '' Swaham '' ( 1994 ) was in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival . His third film '' Vanaprastham '' ( 1999 ) was also selected to Cannes Film Festival , making him the only Indian film maker who could take consecutively three films to Cannes
1994 Cannes Film Festival
1994 Cannes Film Festival
Parallel cinema