Nirmal Baby Varghese

Nirmal Baby Varghese is an Indian film director in Malayalam.^[1][2][3][4] He is known for his historical documentary film Thariode.^[5][6][7][8] His feature directorial debut Vazhiye, was an experimental movie made in found footage style and it is the first found footage movie in Malayalam.^[1][9][10] He is also script writer, film editor, and public relations officer.^[11][12] He is the younger brother of film producer Baby Chaithanya.^[13][14] He runs his own independent film production company called Casablanca Film Factory.^[15]

Nirmal Baby Varghese
Nirmal, during an event held at National Institute of Advanced Studies in August, 2022.
Born	(1994-01-13) 13 January 1994 (age 31) Kavummannam, Wayanad, Kerala
Nationality	Indian
Occupation(s)	Film director, script writer, editor
Years active	2016–present
Parents	Baby P K Lilly Baby
Relatives	Baby Chaithanya (Sister)
Awards	See awards and nominations

Early life

Nirmal was born to Baby P K and Lilly Baby on 13 January 1994 at Kavummannam, in Wayanad district, in Kerala.^[16][17][18]

Film career

In 2016, Nirmal directed two short films,Mirror of Reality and Mattam the Change, which were later released on Amazon Prime Video on 2020.^{[19][20][12][21]}

He began his career in Malayalam film industry in 2017 as the associate editor of the film Kalippu, starring Bala Singh, Kalasala Babu, Ambika Mohan and Shalil Kallur.^[22][23][24] He has also worked as a public relations officer for the films Moppala,^[25] Deira Diaries,^[26] Sarcas Circa 2020,^[27] and Vijay Yesudas's multilingual 3D film Salmon 3D.^[28]

He made his third directorial venture in Thariode, a historical documentary film about gold mining in Thariode.^[5][29] The film found critical acclaim in the festival circuit.^[2][30][31] He also announced a fictionalization of Thariode.^[32][33][34] He later announced the title of this cinematic remake as Thariode: The Lost City with a mainly foreign cast list including Bill Hutchens, Luing Andrews, Alexx O'Nell, Courtney Sanello, Amelie Leroy, Brendan Byrne and Roger Ward.^{[35][36][37][38] [39][40]}

His feature directorial debut film Vazhiye is the first found footage movie in the Malayalam language.^[41][42][43] The film marked the debut of Hollywood music director Evan Evans in Indian cinema.^{[44][45][46][47]}

Filmography

Year	Title	Credited as				Notes	Ref(s)
		Director	Producer	Writer	Other
2016	Mirror of Reality	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Editor Short film Later released on 20 March 2020 on Amazon Prime Video	[19][48][49]
2016	Mattam the Change	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Editor Short film Later released on 22 March 2020 on Amazon Prime Video	[20][50][51]
2019	Kalippu	No	No	No	Yes	Associate film editor	[23][22]
2020	Moppala	No	No	No	Yes	Public relations officer	[52][53]
2021	Deira Diaries	No	No	No	Yes	Public relations officer	[26]
2021	Sarcas Circa 2020	No	No	No	Yes	Public relations officer	[54]
2021	Salmon 3D	No	No	No	Yes	Public relations officer	[55][56]
2021	Thariode	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Editor and sound designer Documentary film	[5][29][57]
2022	Vazhiye	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Editor and sound designer First found footage film in Malayalam Language	[44][41][42]
2024	Dreadful Chapters	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Editor and sound designer Time-loop horror film	[58][59]
2025	Disease X: The Zombie Experiment	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Editor and sound designer Zombie film	[60][61]
TBA	Thariode: The Lost City	Yes	No	Yes	TBA	Announced (Based on the 2020 documentary film Thariode by himself)	[36][37][62]

Bibliography

• Thariode: History & Prospects Of Wayanad Gold Rush - String Productions, 2024. ISBN 978-93-6048-929-8 ^[63]

Awards and accolades

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref(s)
2024	Reels International Film Festival	Best Horror Film	Dreadful Chapters	Won	[64][65]
2023	Hollywood Gold Awards	Best Experimental Film	Dreadful Chapters	Won	[66][67]
2022	Roshani International Film Festival	Best Director of Experimental Film	Vazhiye	Won	[68][69]
2022	Festivus Film Festival	Best Feature Film	Vazhiye	Runner-up	[70][71][72]
2021	Kerala State Television Award	Best Educational Programme	Thariode	Won	[73][74][75]
2021	7th Art Independent International Film Festival	Best of the best in Short Documentary	Thariode	Won	[76]
2021		Best Director in the Documentary Short	Thariode	Won	[2]
2021	Hollywood International Golden Age Festival	Best Documentary	Thariode	Won	[30]
2021	Reels International Short film festival	Jury Award	Thariode	Won	[31]
2021	Continental Film Awards	Best Asian Documentary Short	Thariode	Finalist	[31][77]
2021	iFilms International Short Film Festival	International Short Films	Thariode	Semi-finalist	[78][79]
2020	Košice International Monthly Film Festival	Best Trailer	Thariode	Finalist	[39]

Film festival official selections

Year	Festival	Work	Notes	Ref(s)
2022	Toronto Indie Horror Fest	Vazhiye	Official Selection	[80]
2022	Festival del Cinema di Cefalù	Thariode	Official Selection	[81][82]
2022	One Earth Awards	Thariode	Official Selection	[83][82]
2022	Clapperboard Golden Festival	Mirror of Reality	Official Selection	[84]
2022		Mattam the Change	Official Selection	[84]
2021	Golden Tree International Documentary Film Festival	Thariode	Official Selection	[85][86]
2021	Standalone Film Festival & Awards	Thariode	Official Selection	[87]
2021	Lift-Off Global Network Sessions	Thariode	Official Selection	[88][89]
2020	Košice International Monthly Film Festival	Thariode	Official Selection	[90][91]