Sunny Joseph (born 12 October 1957) is an Indian

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

and director from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, most known for his work in Shaji N. Karun classic, '' Piravi'', for which he won the 1988 Kerala State Film Award for Best Photography and

Caméra d'Or The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week). The prize was created in 1978 Ca ...

— Mention Spéciale at the

1989 Cannes Film Festival The 42nd Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 23 May 1989. West German filmmaker Wim Wenders served as jury president for the main competition. American filmmaker Steven Soderbergh won the '' Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, for his ...

. He has Post Graduate Diploma in Cinematography from the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. ...

(FTII), Pune. He is a former Chairman and General Secretary of Indian Society of Cinematographers, (ISC).

Early life and education

Born in 1957 in Kerala to CV Joseph and Thressiamma, he grew up in the household of two brothers (including a twin brother), and six younger sisters. Sunny did his P.D.C. from St. Michael's College,

Cherthala Cherthala is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India and acts as a satellite town of Kochi. It is located north of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 20 ...

( Kerala University) in

Alappuzha district Alappuzha district (), is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It was formed as Alleppey district on 17 August 1957, the name of the district being changed to ''Alapp ...

in 1974, followed by B.Sc. in Zoology (completed course) from Deva Matha College, Kuravilangad, in the Kottayam district in 1977. He joined the

(FTII),

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

in 1979, where he did a course - Diploma in Cinema, specializing in Motion Picture Photography and graduated in 1983.

Career

After graduating from

in 1983, Sunny Joseph started working as a cinematographer in 1987. '' Piravi'' the film which he photographed for Shaji N. Karun became a landmark in his career and in Indian Cinema. In 2002, Sunny assisted veteran cinematographer and

Adoor Gopalakrishnan Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), G ...

long-time collaborator, Mankada Ravi Varma, in his last work, '' Nizhalkuthu'' (2002) and eventually shot many scenes in the film for which Sunny is credited alongside Mankada Ravi Varma.

Selected filmography

* ''

Theertham Theertham (Theertha or Tirtha) literally refers to water. In Hindu sacred literature, it is referred to as the physical holy water body associated with a temple or deity. As per Hindu religious belief, water is the principal purification mechanis ...

'' (1987) * '' Piravi'' (1988) * ''Ore Thooval Pakshikal'' (1988) * ''Eenam Maranna Kattu'' (1988) * '' Unni'' (1989) * ''Pooram'' (1989) * '' Alicinte Anveshanam'' (1989) * ''Ottayal Pattalam'' (1990) * ''Ottayadipathakal'' (1990) * ''Kshanakathu'' (1990) * '' Vasthuhara'' (1991) * '' Aanaval Mothiram'' (1991) * ''Satyaprathinja'' (1991) * ''Kahini'' * '' Sanabi'' (1995) * '' Mogamul'' (1995) * '' America! America!!'' (1997) * '' Mangamma'' (1997) * '' Daya'' (1998) * '' Train to Pakistan'' (1998) * '' Angene Oru Avadhikkalathu'' (1999) * '' Oru Cheru Punchiri'' (2000) * '' Thiladaanam'' (2000) * '' Swayamvara Panthal'' (2000) * '' Nizhalkuthu'' (2002) * ''

Dance Like a Man ''Dance Like a Man'' is a 2004 Indian English-language dance drama film directed by Pamela Rooks based on the play of the same name by Mahesh Dattani. The film stars Shobana, Arif Zakaria and Anoushka Shankar in her acting debut. The film won ...

'' (2004) * '' Daivanamathil'' (2005) * '' Kamli'' (2006) * '' Ami, Yasin Ar Amar Madhubala'' (2007) * '' Chintu Ji'' (2009) * '' Janala'' (2009) * '' O Maria'' (2011) * '' Ramanujan'' (2014) * ''Sweet Home'' (2014) * ''Moral Nights'' (2021) * ''Tayaa'' Under production

References

External links

Official website
*
Interview with Sunny Joseph -Cinematographer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Sunny 1957 births Living people Cinematographers from Kerala Film and Television Institute of India alumni Kerala State Film Award winners University of Kerala alumni Malayalam film cinematographers People from Alappuzha district Tamil cinematographers 20th-century Indian people Film directors from Alappuzha district 20th-century Indian photographers