{{short description|2025 Canadian short film directed by Kalainithan Kalaichelvan}} {{Infobox film | name = Karupy | image = | caption = Film poster | director = Kalainithan Kalaichelvan | producer = Shaista Roshan<br>Alison Almeida | writer = Kalainithan Kalaichelvan | starring = Sumathy Balaram | music = Kalaisan Kalaichelvan | cinematography = Shady Hanna | editing = Jake Lee | studio = Canadian Film Centre | distributor = | released = {{film date|2025|9|9|TIFF}} | runtime = 12 minutes | country = Canada | language = English<br>Tamil }}
'''''Karupy''''' is a Canadian short drama film, directed by Kalainithan Kalaichelvan and released in 2025.<ref name=immigrant>Baisakhi Roy, [https://canadianimmigrant.ca/news/kalainithan-kalaichelvan-on-tamil-identity-family-secrets-and-his-tiff-premiere "Kalainithan Kalaichelvan on Tamil identity, family secrets and his TIFF premiere"]. ''Canadian Immigrant'', September 17, 2025.</ref> 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.<ref>C.J. Prince, [https://thefilmstage.com/10-must-see-short-films-at-tiff-2025/ "10 Must-See Short Films at TIFF 2025"]. ''The Film Stage'', September 2, 2025.</ref>
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.<ref name=nagendrarajah>Nirris Nagendrarajah, [https://chajournal.com/2025/10/07/karupy/ "(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.</ref> It had its genesis when he overheard his grandfather saying that he was simply waiting around to die,<ref name=immigrant/> leading him to write a story that explored Tamil culture's ambivalent relationship with expressing difficult emotions around subjects such as death.<ref name=nagendrarajah/>
The film premiered in the Short Cuts program at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.<ref name=shortcuts>Melanie Goodfellow, [https://deadline.com/2025/08/tiff-shorts-2025-full-lineup-1236481015/ "Idris Elba’s ‘Dust To Dreams’ Starring Seal Set To Premiere In TIFF Shorts + Full Lineup"]. ''Deadline Hollywood'', August 7, 2025.</ref>
==Awards==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! Award ! Date of ceremony ! Category ! Recipient ! Result ! {{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |- | rowspan=2| Canadian Screen Awards | rowspan=2| 2026 | Best Live Action Short Drama | Kalainithan Kalaichelvan, Shaista Roshan, Alison Almeida | {{nom}} | rowspan=2| <ref>[https://canadianfilmreviewer.ca/2026/03/26/the-14th-canadian-screen-awards-nominations-2026/ "The 14th Canadian Screen Awards Nominations (2026)"]. ''The Canadian Film Reviewer'', March 26, 2026.</ref> |- | Best Performance in a Live Action Short Drama | rowspan=2| Sumathy Balaram | {{nom}} |- | Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival | 2025 | Outstanding Performer in a Canadian Short Film | {{won}} | <ref>Andrew Tracy, [https://playbackonline.ca/2025/11/06/montreal-my-beautiful-wins-best-canadian-film-prize-at-reel-asian/ "Montreal, My Beautiful wins best Canadian film prize at Reel Asian"]. ''Playback'', November 6, 2025.</ref>
|}
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|34615501}}
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Category:2025 films Category:2025 short films Category:Canadian drama short films Category:2025 Canadian films Category:English-language Canadian films Category:Films about Asian Canadians Category:Tamil-Canadian culture Category:2025 Tamil-language films Category:Canadian Film Centre films
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