CHENNAI: Tamil filmmaker R Gautham, who made his directorial debut with Members of a Complex Family, has won the Best Debut Director award at the 2026 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, according to a Maalaimalar report.
The film explores violence within family relationships and emotions that shift between emptiness and comfort.
Its selection made it the fourth Tamil film to be screened at the Berlin festival.
Members of a Complex Family revolves around the death of a young man and the funeral that follows. Though the grief surrounding his death is not overwhelming, the incident shakes the family and changes several things. The film examines violence within family relationships while portraying emotions that oscillate between emptiness and comfort.
The Berlinale selection committee praised it as “a wonderful debut film”
The film was also screened as the opening film of the Melbourne Indian Film Festival in Australia, where it received acclaim. It was nominated for Best Film and Best Director at the Melbourne festival.