Rajamouli's epic film Baahubali: The Beginning, was nominated for " 42nd American Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film." The second installment, The Conclusion is the only Indian film to receive the "Best International Film" at the " 44th American Saturn Awards". Rajnesh Domalpalli's Vanaja was nominated for the Best First Feature and Best Cinematography awards at the " 23rd American Independent Spirit Awards". Viswanath's Swati Mutyam was India's official entry to the 59th Academy Awards. Sastry's Thilaadanam received "New Currents Award" at the 7th Busan International Film Festival.
Narsing Rao's ethnographic film Maa Ooru won the 1992 Hungarian Visual Arts "Main Prize – Media Wave Award". Pathala Bhairavi (1951), Malliswari (1951), Devadasu (1953), Mayabazar (1957), Nartanasala (1963), Maro Charitra (1978), Maa Bhoomi (1979), Sankarabharanam (1980), Sagara Sangamam (1983), and Siva (1989), have been showcased among CNN-IBN's 100 Greatest Indian Films of All Time. Pathala Bhairavi (1951) was the only South Indian film screened at the first India International Film Festival. It received an honorary diploma at the 2nd Venice International Film Festival. The film was shot with a budget of estimated ₹1 million (US$13,000) in Calcutta. The film was based on a popular stage play by Mylavaram Bala Bharathi Samajam, directed by father of the " Telugu theatre Movement" Chittajallu Pullaiah and cast stage actors Vemuri Gaggaiah and Dasari Ramathilakam as "Yama" and "Savithri" respectively. In 1933, East India Film Company has produced its first Indian film, Savitri in Telugu. He is cited as the father of Telugu cinema. In 1921, he produced the silent film, Bhishma Pratigna. Since 1909, filmmaker Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu was involved in producing short films and travelling to different regions in Asia to promote film work. By 2021, it has emerged as the largest film industry in South Asia in terms of box-office. The nickname Tollywood is a portmanteau of the words Telugu and Hollywood. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, a neighbourhood of Hyderabad, India. Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.