Swarnaval Eswaran
Swarnavel Eswaran is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and the School of Journalism at Michigan State University. He is a graduate of the preeminent Film and Television Institute of India and the prestigious film studies program at the University of Iowa. His documentaries include Nagapattinam: Waves from the Deep (2018), Hmong Memories at the Crossroad (2016), Migrations of Islam (2014), and Unfinished Journey: A City in Transition (2012). His research focuses on Tamil cinema's history, aesthetics, politics, the contemporary digital era, and the concomitant changes in film production, distribution, and reception. His books include Tamil Cinema Reviews: 1931-1960 (Nizhal Publications, 2020) and Madras Studios: Narrative, Genre, and Ideology in Tamil Cinema (Sage Publications, 2015). His fiction feature Kattumaram (Catamaran, 2019), a collaboration with Tamil cinema's leading director Mysskin, is currently on the film festival circuit.
Michigan State University:
https://people.cal.msu.edu/eswaran/
https://doclab.cal.msu.edu/faculty/swarnavel-eswaran-pillai/
https://cal.msu.edu/news/professors-film-screened-at-several-festivals-around-the-world/
Links to films:
Kattumaram/Catamaran (2019) Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt5D9yQVI-I
Nagapattinam: Waves from the Deep (2018):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tba4F8SJj4s
Silences (2018):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxmRz-49g5s
Book Trailer: Marcia Aldrich’s Companion to an Untold Story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUhxyjK_5RE
Kattumaram Review:
https://bollyspice.com/liff-2019-special-review-kattumaram/
Essays online:
Maadathy–an Unfairy Tale: Caste, Space, and Gaze. https://journals.library.brandeis.edu/index.php/caste/article/view/365
Double(d) Meaning: http://chicagotamilforum.uchicago.edu/workshops/2022/ewExternalFiles/Eswaran%20%26%20Nakassis_Doubled%20Meaning%20%28CTF%202022%29.pdf
Mothers and Lovers in Tamil Cinema. http://femasiamagazine.com/mothers-and-lovers-in-tamil-cinema/
Kobayashi’s Kwaidan: Horror, History, and Culture: https://journals.kpu.ca/index.php/msq/article/view/1579
Contemporary Tamil Cinema: To Let and Manusangada. http://ejumpcut.org/archive/jc59.2019/Eswaren-Tamil/bio.html
Periyar, Dravidian Ideologues, and Tamil Cinema. https://theperiyarproject.com/2021/01/04/periyar-dravidian-ideologues-and-tamil-cinema/
Death Rides a Horse and Its Influence on Indian Cinema. http://femasiamagazine.com/death-rides-a-horse-and-its-influence-on-indian-cinema/
The Texture of Interiority: Voice Over and Visuals.https://journalonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SVACij-Vol2_No1_2015-Pillai-Texture-Voiceover-and-Visuals.pdf
