Habitat Film Festival
Screening Schedule
5th - 14th May, 2023
To register, please click on each film and fill in the necessary details.
Movies
5th May 2023
6th May 2023
Mrinal Sen Retrospective Tribute ( 1923 - 2023). Discussion & Screening
Mrinal Sen
7th May 2023
8th May 2023
Mrinal Sen Retro Tribute( 1923 - 2023) and Uttara Baokar Memoriam( 1944 - April 2023). Ek Din Achanak
Mrinal Sen
9th May 2023
10th May 2023
Satish Kaushik Memoriam ( April 1956 - March 2023). Followed by screening of Dekh Tamasha Dekh
Feroze Abbas Khan
11th May 2023
12th May 2023
13th May 2023
14th May 2023
When a girl does not return home from work on time, her family tries to look for her. However, when she does not return all night, they receive flak from the residents of their building.
The story revolves around Tora who gets settled abroad after marrying Ribhu. However, their married life goes through a tough time and amid all these Tora comes across a musician. Tora who couldn't pursue her singing career for several reasons falls for him.They get involved in a relationship but will Tora be able to leave her marital life for a new relationship?
One morning a widow, who lives alone in the house that holds memories of her late husband, finds a gentleman sunning himself on her lawn. The trespass, which initially generated fear in her, ends up making a welcome intrusion into her claustrophobic loneliness, the loneliness which remained impermeable to the solicitous calls regularly made by her son living abroad, and to her other regular visitors. A maid comes regularly to do the household chores, a trusted young man is there who responds to her calls for household needs. But the surreal nights and empty days of the widow’s lonely life remained beyond their scope. It’s the trespasser on her lawn who comes to trespass into her lonely inner world too, as if she’d been waiting for his help to unburden her fear and explore her desire, to trespass into the world beyond her lonely widowhood. But however high the education, social status and individual integrity of the man be, is a widow, a mother, a grandmother for that matter allowed to reach out for him to break free from her suffocating lonely widowhood? The widower who trespassed on her sunny lawn makes her go for her bit of sun too.
When Max (Mahesh Mahadevan) and Min (Minara Hussain) break up, he’s forced to take care of Min’s cat, named Meowzaki after their favourite filmmaker – the Japanese animation legend Miyazaki Hayao. Having just lost his mother, having to deal with his allergy to cat fur, in addition to grief and heartbreak, Max finds a cat sitter for Meowzaki. Max’s orthodox father Ramesh, suffering from insomnia since his wife’s death, consults a charming therapist called Dhaara. Max’s grandfather Sridhar Mahadevan enjoys secretly drinking with his new friend Jennifer, an Alzheimer’s patient, at his retirement home. All three generations of Mahadevan men heal their mutual and separate dysfunctionalities as they learn to let the light in through their wounds, helped along by new friendships, cats, music and the wisdom of Hayao Miyazaki.
The journey of a young school teacher to prove her father's innocence with the help of a juvenile advocate who's never even seen the interiors of a court hall.
Nooran is a singer, healer, midwife and doctor in the Sindhi community of Rajasthan. Aadam, a camel dealer is in love with her. Feeling refused, he puts in place a terrible vengeance.
In one of the world’s most populated cities, two brothers — Nadeem and Saud — devote their lives to the quixotic effort of protecting the black kite, a majestic bird of prey essential to the ecosystem of New Delhi that has been falling from the sky at alarming rates. Amid environmental toxicity and social unrest, the ‘kite brothers’ spend day and night caring for the creatures in their makeshift avian basement hospital. Director Shaunak Sen (Cities of Sleep) explores the connection between the kites and the Muslim brothers who help them return to the skies, offering a mesmerizing chronicle of inter-species coexistence.
A young writer leaves his novel manuscript at a photostat shop to make copies and promises to pick it up by evening. But the writer never returns. A few days later, the woman who runs the shop shockingly comes to know that the writer has been murdered for the very same manuscript. She goes through a series of experiences that enlightens her otherwise ignorant political and social self.
A generational curse comes true when Ponni and her family face a senseless act of injustice. She and her brother Sangaiah decide to seek justice.
An emotional thriller that represents a higher quest, a search for lost values of empathy and integrity.
Set in the remote Indian countryside of 2010, After watching a movie at the Indian Galaxy Cinema, young, free-spirited SAMAY’s life turns upside down as he passionately falls in love with films. He steals money from his father’s struggling small tea shop, and skips school to watch movies. Samay and his gang passionately begin to create their own 35mm movie of their dreams. Soon Samay’s father discovers his nine-year old son’s ‘immoral’ obsession with the movies and physically punishes him and warns him to stay away from the ‘filthy’ world of films. For Samay it is too late as he is already smitten by the world of movies. Continuing to pursue his obsession with the movie, Samay’s path crosses with FAZAL, the projectionist at the Galaxy Cinema. They strike a deal. Samay will let him eat the delicious food that his mother has lovingly made for him.- in return for Fazal letting him watch movies all day from the projection room. In no time their "food-for-films" deal turns into an endearing long- lasting friendship. Soon however, the unlikely duo will be forced to make heartbreaking choices as an era of change is sweeping through the country - and ultimately their dreams will be altered forever...
A schoolboy who lives in rural Panjab encounters impotence and is misunderstood by society as gay. He is left with a choice that no one should have to make.
Meera is beautiful, pregnant, and in search of some spice in her life. Mohit is young, idle, and lives next door with Devki, his abusive mother. Meera has a boring and absent husband. But wait to see what the guy is hiding. Her aunty Durga is old and hopes to become immortal, her other half has a secret in his shop that nobody knows about, except his young grandchild who is smarter than it seems. They all live in a dilapidated building called Amar Colony.
"Amar Colony" is life itself with its psychological conundrums, its scandals, and its politics. Its inhabitants embody multigenerational humanity, bound together in a limited space. They meet, they talk, they cheat, they have secrets and they share meals, they love each other, abuse each other, believe in god, and refuse to die.
With its washed color palette and a romantic decadent setting, this film is a satire on mankind. A delicate and unique portrait of an exotic community that in fact represents all of us.
A small town girl Siya, who decides to fight for justice, fighting against all odds and starts a movement against the vicious system.
Amidst the Covid Lockdown, Sumit and Priyanka, an eloped couple, are back in
their conservative hometown. While Sumit looks for work, unsuccessfully, Priyanka, who
has been estranged from her family, seeks to re-establish contact with her father. While she suffocates alone, rejected by friends and family, in their dilapidated room, Sumit's cele-
brated return to his tribe of friends, is a reminder of carefree days. He falls into a life of wastefulness, while Priyanka, unable to awaken a sense of responsibility within him, contemplates a return to the cradle of her estranged father's home. Unable to fulfill each other's emotional and tangible needs, every conversation between Sumit and Priyanka turns into a playground for an argument. As the town drowns in the monsoon, their relationship inches towards a tragic end.
To look like a film star is one thing, to be a lookalike of one is quite another. The latter comes with a stamp of ‘urf’ or ‘also known as’ for life.
In the alleys of the Hindi film and television industry, they are usually known as duplicates, juniors, body-doubles – the monikers are many. 'Urf' navigates beyond these labels and explores who they truly are – actors, mimics, fans or more.
The film delves into the lives of Kishore Bhanushali, Firoz Khan and Prashant Walde, lookalikes of superstars Dev Anand, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, respectively. Their collective narrative unravels the world of a lookalike, who tends to gain a relatively easy entry into Bollywood but only at the cost of one’s own identity.
The identity conundrum aside, they bring in perspectives on stardom and cinema, mimicry and acting, along with their own dreams and struggles.
An impending bankruptcy, eviction from the house, and inability to conceive a child have led to a couple to end their lives. However, there’s a catch. For the wife, it’s suicide. For the husband, in the true sense, it’s a planned murder. Will he be able to execute it? Or will there be an obstacle that he never intended? Vaalvi is a dark comedy that explores the profound human nature involving selfishness, apathy, and self-preservation.
The lifelong romance between Lolita (Balan) and Shekar (Khan) is upset by the arrival of another man.
Film Director revisits the Himalayan mountain villages after 5 years of shooting a national award-winning feature film, in which local villagers appeared in various roles. He meets and observes villagers' life, philosophy, ideas and invites them for a cinema experience at The Himalayan Film Festival, Leh 2021 where some of them see the cinema first time in their life.
After decades of dormancy, the ageing icons of Parsi Theatre return to the stage, putting aside their walking sticks for one final curtain.
Plunging into rehearsals, this documentary chronicles the resilience of a singular cast of characters that want nothing more than to go out with a bang. We get an intimate portrait of the bonds shared between the veteran stars and the youngsters, along with a distinct flavour of their sensibilities, marked by a particular brand of not-so-subtle (and sometimes downright potty) humour that is uniquely their own.
The film debunks and celebrates old age as the players want to put up the best show they can, not one that’s simply good enough given its ‘senior citizen’ tag.
A great tragedy befalls the cast on the eve of the Final Show. Will it change everything? Or will the show go on, despite all odds?
Video tributes and reminiscences from industry colleagues anchored by Mayank Shekhar, film critic, journalist and author.
Followed by screening of 'Dekh Tamasha Dekh'. A social and political satire about a true incident,it revolves around the search for the religious identity of a poor man crushed under the weight of a politician's hoarding. The film explores an Impossible India where bizarre is normal.
Belonging to an isolated fishing community in Loktak lake, Chaoren makes the best use of his exclusive existence by excelling in school. When the canoe he uses every day to attend school has to be sold off because of his father’s illness, his spirit is not dampened. He beats the long distance from his shanty floating hut to school by swimming his way through. But when the Government issues an eviction notice demanding Chaoren’s family to leave their home, his dreams are left with an angst of a displaced person.
When Ardh Satya Met Himmatwala: The Many Lives of 1980s Bombay Cinema by Avijit Ghosh. Pub. Speaking Tiger. In this thoroughly researched and entertaining book, the author narrates the fascinating story of perhaps the most eventful, disruptive and transformative decade of Hindi cinema. Opening remarks by Amit Khanna, noted lyricist from the Hindi film industry.Film historian Gautam Chintamani will be in conversation with the author.
The numerous Satras (Vaishnavaite monasteries) of Majuli, the world’s largest inhabited river island, are not only religious places of great significance but also form the heart of Satriya culture that was created by 15 th century saint, poet, playwright, social reformer and cultural icon Srimanta Sankardev.
One key element of the Satriya culture is the masks that are worn by performers during
Bhaona, which are dance dramas based primarily on Hindu mythology. These masks – or “Mukha“ as they are called in Assamese – represent an intricate art form, and artisans create them in a unique and totally organic way using biodegradable material.
This film creatively documents the Mask Art form of Majuli, focusing on the only two
families that are keeping the practice alive at the Natun Chamaguri Satra, including award-
winning mask maker Dr Hem Chandra Goswami.
Dayaar/ Homeland( 2023/English/ 29 mins)Dir. Zaid Ali Khan.The film focuses on 2 Afghan Artists in refuge at New Delhi, India.
Ripples Under The Skin ( 2022/Hindi/ 29 mins) Dir. Farha Khatun. A 65-year-old man trudges along the lanes and bylanes of a city – a city that is rapidly changing, a city where the toils of this man with the mashaq is a story to be curated, frozen, archived as a relic of the past … ‘Ripples Under the Skin’ tells the story of the Calcutta that lurks behind the glitz and glamour of today’s Calcutta, it tells the story of a community of migrant workers who had come to this city to make a living, a city that never invited them yet somehow they made home, even though ‘home’ remains elusive, a city that nourishes, waters itself through the toils of people like Nazim chacha, yet conveniently forgets, casts them away when it chooses to walk towards the future.
A scandalous video triggers a crisis for a couple working in a factory, unleashing unexpected conflicts in their personal and professional lives.
Formerly a well-known writer, Balmiki, 58, now lives in obscurity. A publishing house gives him forty thousand rupees to write about his wife, who was murdered. Regardless, Balmiki does not provide a single page of manuscript. To recover the writing, the publishing house engages Sounak, a young debt recovery agent.
A loving father and a kind neighbour, struggles to keep his small-town business afloat while his relationships deteriorate, amidst loss and lockdowns.
A contemporary social drama that deals with urban migrant lives. In Kerala, South India, Rudra, a migrant idol-maker from Bengal, desperate for his uncle's cremation, and Chaavi, a tough Tamil midwife who moonlights as a funeral priest, forge a fragile bond that is threatened when she is accused of a heinous crime. Rudra, who works as a construction worker, wants a better life. Chaavi wants to find her roots. Despite their differences, they want to make a life together, but something in their past hinders them.
Retired Colonel Geevarghese Mathen is now settled in his ancestral home in Kerala and is leading a very relaxed and leisurely life. He cherishes the memories of his good old days in the army and his life experiences. The Colonel had to his credit several accolades and recognitions which he had won during his eventful career.
But soon, his life takes a turn, where none of this is capable of providing him any more pleasures. Sorrows start to set in his life, one after the other. The only solace and joy in his life now is his granddaughter Neetu, who has come down to spend the summer vacation with her Grandpa. In the pristine plantations of the village, in the lush green meadows and the rippling waters, the Grandpa and the daughter, feel heaven under their feet and over their heads. As they delight in the untamed rural beauty of nature around, a new bonding deepens between the two of them. Will this continue for ever..
Studying in a colonial-era boarding school in the Himalayan mountains, Jaivardhana (‘JV’) is an insolent and mischievous sixteen-year-old who finds it hard to balance his world within the rigid and mundane structures of school, and his newfound attraction towards another student, Tarini. As the tale unfolds, we begin to realize their roles as timeless lovers in a mythical tale, meeting in the present day after several centuries of longing, and leading up to the death of Tarini in this life as well. As the whole universe conspires to break the ancient curse, this tale of eternal love can only end if Jaivardhana travels to the land of death itself. The story of Meghdoot is where myth and reality merge, giving birth to something new. Where we witness the dream of a boy, merging with the cosmic dream.
Based on the workers' protests in the 1940s and '50s at the Mattancherry harbour, two brothers find themselves on opposite sides of the battle against the Chappa system, where metal tokens decide a day's worth of work. As the protests turn violent and lives are lost, will the brothers stay loyal to each other and their fellow labourers?
Sony, a catholic man in his late twenties from rural central Kerala, comes across as a do-gooder and a well-wisher at the first glimpse. However, lurking behind his public persona is a different character. Even as some of his family members become aware of his deeds, they are silenced by the system, which mindfully and actively protects men, their delinquencies, and secrets. The family thus becomes a sturdy closet, where skeletons of the past are kept unknown and unseen by the world outside. The film tries to understand how the family system operates like mafia when it comes to the
crimes from within.
A selfie sex video of two 17-year-olds shot in a classroom on the college campus gets leaked on the internet leading to irreparable damages in the lives of all the stakeholders.
Present day Goa, a small and an extremely conservative community serves as home to Mattu, 30, a farmer. He makes the mistake of beating up another villager and in return, his family is shunned from the temple rituals and are fined a hefty sum. Not only does the family have to deal with the humiliation of being social outcasts but also Mattu has to come up with the money quickly or else his sister's wedding will be called off.
Discussion celebrating the life and work of Mrinal Sen with his son - Kunal Sen, Sohini Chattopadhyay- National Award winning film critic, and Naveen Kishore, publisher of Mrinal Sen’s “Absence Trilogy”.
Followed by screening of Khandhar (35mm/Hindi/1984/106 mins). Subhash, a photographer, pretends to be the suitor of a young woman in a village he is visiting. However, he soon starts feeling attracted to her despite knowing that he will have to leave her behind.
Koyalamma, a tribal woman races against time to protect her social status by getting her son married before the government stops the lone bus service.
The story of this film is about faith in the fundamental goodness of other
nature and humanity. The lotus of the conscience blooms only when it is
connected with the mother nature and with one's inner nature(soul).Here the protagonist (Saraswati) is a symbol of our mother
nature,who is vast, filled with love, has indomitable power to accept, is
full of the spirit of giving & protagonist (Saraswati) has all these qualities
which she has got from the connection with mother nature.Therefore,even the insensitive and indulgent act of society does not destroy the tenderness and simplicity of the woman, because she has unshakable faith in mother nature even in adverse circumstances.At the end of the film, Mother Nature protects the dignity of protagonist’s (Saraswati) love
for her child with her generosity and her life fills with joy and happiness.Therefore, if humanity is to be kept alive, the tenderness and sensitivity of the world are to be saved and for that we have to stay connected with mother nature, then only the beautiful lotus of our conscience will never wither.
What is it like to revisit an era that pioneered the spread of knowledge at the dawn of modernity, from the post-truth world of today? Modern ways of communication & transportation built on the ethos of hope & dedication, vision & purpose, was all about creating more divide & boundaries? This period film takes up a journey with Ferdinand Kittel, a missionary from Germany who served in southern India, mastered more than 2000-year-old language called Kannada and did monumental work in the field of lexicography & philology. Facing the wrath of his superiors, this “failed missionary” went on to transcend the boundaries of religion, language & geography to herald a new beginning. The film unfolds his challenging journey as a stream-of-consciousness, provoking the viewer to ponder upon the very essence of faith & belief, of speech & action, and that of words & meaning in today’s world.
The Indian government announces a nationwide lockdown without proper notice, in the wake of the pandemic. A father who is a daily wager in Bengaluru, and his 10 year-old son, decide to go back to their hometown Raichur, 450kms away from Bengaluru. And they have to walk all the way due to the lack of transportation. The scorching heat and bad weather shakes their journey as well as both of their lives.
Best of Critics Choice Awards 2023 by the Film Critics Guild.The Critics Choice Awards celebrate the best short films, web series and feature films from the past year across 23 categories. The shorts film package presents a selection of nominations for the 2023 awards, curated by the members of the Film Critics Guild.
The Silent Echo (Nepali/ 2021/17mins) Dir. Suman Sen. Four teenagers, from a remote mountain village, spend their days in an abandoned bus on a ridge, playing music. When a band competition is organized in a neighboring town, they gather money and courage to be part of it.
Little Wings (Tamil / 2021/21 mins) Dir. Naveenkumar Muthaiah. An old woman trapped in a bitter marriage is pushed to the brink when her paralyzed husband sets out to consume her pet rooster.
7 Star Dinosaur Entertainment (Hindi/2021/ 20 mins) Dir.Vaishali Naik. Two dinosaurs who earned their living dancing in weddings and parties, are now stuck indoors thanks to the pandemic. As hunger and the cramped space suffocates them, will the behemoths resort to their primal instincts?
Nauha (Hindi / 2022 / 26 mins) Dir. Pratham Khurana. Coming of age of 22-year-old Kishan through his experience of taking care of a 75-year-old dying Babuji.
Lalanna's Song (Malayalam, Hindi/2021/30 mins) Dir.Megha Ramaswamy.Two disenchante girlfriends, played with fearless immediacy by Parvathy Thiruvothu and Rima Kallingal, shepherd their young kids to a birthday party. Overwhelmed by the demands of motherhood and shaken by an incident of racial profiling they experience on the way, they are unprepared to meet Lalanna, a precocious preteen girl who suavely pushes their buttons. Seeming to possess all the promise and confidence the two women have lost, Lalanna unleashes within them a merciless instinct to set her straight.
Muthayya is a comedy/drama set in a remote village in Telangana, and it tells the story of a 70-year-old man, Muthayya, who dreams of acting in movies before he dies. He shares all his joys and sorrows with his best friend, Malli,a 24-year-old guy who runs a cycle repair shop in the same village. As the story unfolds, Muthayya tries to exhibit his acting skills through every possible medium including short films and TikTok videos, but the obstacles he faces in the process leaves him heartbroken. The rest of the story is about how Muthayya achieves his dream and inspires everyone around him.
Shorts package- Best of Critics Choice Awards 2023 by the Film Critics Guild.The Critics Choice Awards celebrate the best short films, web series and feature films from the past year across 23 categories. The shorts film package presents a selection of nominations for the 2023 awards, curated by the members of the Film Critics Guild.
Sadabahar (Konkani, Hindi / 2021/ 13 mins) Dir.Suyash Kamat. A tragicomedy rooted in the feeling of home and belonging for the members of a wedding brass quartet, Sadabahar.
Pottan (Malayalam/2021/10 mins) Dir.Vinesh Chandran. A ray of light, a new hope has the unique power to demolish the darkness and discrimination of an evil mind.
Night Saloon (Malayalam/2021/ 12 mins) Dirs.Rony David Raj, Rahul R Sarma , Nerambokku. A clever adaptation of Just Lather, That's All.
Gray (Hindi / 2022/ 30 mins ) Dir. Sakshi Gurnani .Gray emphasises on the importance of consent, which is required to form a romantic relationship
Footprints (Bengali / 2023 / 24 mins ) Dir. Tathagata Ghosh .Through an arduous day in the life of an impoverished help, there's a subtle yet sharp commentary on class divide.
Bad Egg (English/ 2022 / 28 mins ) Dir.Mehak Jamal. Zoya receives a disturbing call from her mother - her sister Zara has gone missing during the pandemic. Surprisingly, Zoya isn't rattled enough. She's hiding something, all of which leads back to the fateful night of a party. Throughout the film, Zoya interacts with her surroundings as if she’s re-calibrating to them. As the plot unravels, so does she. In this story, appearances can be very deceiving.
A tale of two lovebirds who eventually got married to each other. During courtship they often used to visit a mountain resort dreaming
of making their home there someday. But life pulls them apart and they get divorced and choose to walk separate paths in their lives. Years later with the intervention of fate they meet at the same mountain resort where they get another fresh chance to untangle the troubles that existed between them and
rediscover each other.
Will love bloom again? Will they fulfil their dream of making their dream home in the mountains? The cinematic journey of 'Meghbari' answers those queries and
much more.
‘Adieu GODARD’ is a socio-cultural comic tribute to the legendary French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard. The film is based on an old man named Ananda, who happens to be a pornography addict. He secretly watches pornography with some friends in a conservative Indian village. One day, they accidentally come across a Godard’s film mistakenly rented as pornography. Though his friends were disgusted, Ananda gets attracted to Godard’s film and gradually develops an obsession. He initiates the idea of hosting a film festival in their village where Godard’s films will be screened. The festival gets organized after a lot of drama, but what happens next is to be seen.
Set in a time when migration has become a serious issue for the people belonging to the mountains. It deals with the complex issues of identity, community, language and love in a small village of Uttarakhand. It is a film that tells the story of the mountains and beckons its lost children back home.
Dwelling in a remote village of North Eastern India, Assam, Akoman is a 12
year old child having normal aspirations like having a national flag of his own. However, his
financial situation does not allow him the same. In an attempt to make his own flag, he discovers a flag in his granary. Surprisingly, it is not the national flag. Vacillating between the two flags, he discovers realities about his missing father, insurgent ideologies and more.
A Season of Mangoes (2022/English, Hindi/39 mins) Dir. Ishan Sharma. A young man struggles to keep his grandmother from losing her memories and realises that time is a lie.
Raavi (2022/Punjabi/14 mins) Dir. Jasmine Kaur Roy. Fear and insecurity plague the mind of 73 year old Raavi as she finds herself trapped in her own home. While she wallows in the misery of her confinement, some scraps of memories float from a distant past and find release. The past and present fuse seamlessly and suffering acquires a new meaning.
Kulfi (2022/Bengali/6 mins) Dir. Chirantan Das. The story describes the sweet relationship grandparents share with their grandchildren, and how the sudden loss affects the child, who doesn't fully understand it.
Kameez (2022/Hindi/20mins) Dir. Dhrubajit Baishya. This story revolves around a 60-year-old father who is a tailor by profession. His son had left the house 7 years ago and hasn't returned till date. Before his son left, he had sewed a shirt for him which was left behind. For 7 years his son has been sending money but doesn't return back home. Now the old tailor has lost hopes of his son's return and keeps on talking with that particular shirt which was left behind. This story is not about a father-son relationship but it is about the comparison or juxtaposition of two generations. It’s about the ideology clashes which exists in them.
Frog is the Pond’s Witness (2022/Hindi/3 mins) Dir. Anuj Malhotra. On a night like any other, a digital passerby stumbles upon an unencrypted cloud folder of images captured by a surveillance camera. These turn out to be the records of the various shadowy activities that transpire on the sidelines of an annual religious congregation inside the park of a New Delhi residential colony. As the passerby investigates the artefacts, he begins to ponder the secrets they reveal about the colony, the fictions palpable within them, the maps of exclusion they lay bare, the violence resident in the process of their creation and his own, odd obsession with them.
Bandit Bazooka ( 2022/Hindi/30 mins) Dir. Divyesh Gandhi. The film shows how an impoverished child Robin is caught in a crossfire between the vacuous threats of a petty criminal (Piyush Kumar) and a corrupt police officer (Kuljeet Singh) who lures him with false aspirations to keep him as his informer. Taken advantage of by both, Robin finds a way to free himself from these “bandits of society” and uphold his prized sense of freedom.
The Mist is a saga of a woman who finally empowered herself after passing through a dark and abusive childhood , while searching her gender identity through her childhood to adulthood and how she embraced a house in a no man's land for finally getting a reliable shelter on the earth.
Under The Waters ( 2022/Marathi/ 18 mins) Dir. Ambieca Pandit. When a sexual transgression is inflicted upon a pubescent boy at the hands of an older teenage male, the two silently ricochet between anger and longing, fear and denial while on a beach vacation with their families. Submerged under the weight of toxic masculinity, the film unpacks a uniquely male mode of communication, using the camera to explore rigid bodies, repressed emotion, and sudden bursts of shocking violence.
The Horse From Heaven (2022/Assamese/20mins) Dir. Maharshi Kashyap. Kuxhol is travelling to the city with Goti, the horse from heaven. Kuxhol tells the amazing story about their adventures to everyone he meets on his way. He claims Goti to be the fastest horse in the world. Everyone finds it bizarre in the beginning as they can see that Goti is not a horse, but a donkey. Well, eventually his audience starts believing in his tale and the Heaven's Horse.
Path (2022/silent/20 mins) Dir. Pradipp Kurbah. When the pandemic hit us, we were soon to know about the phrase 'embracing the new normal'. There is nothing normal about the loss of livelihood, nothing normal about having to walk for hours. While the privileged embraced a new world, those who were worst affected, fall through the gaps. Path, however, is a personal story of a lone journey, a man takes as India readies herself for the onslaught of the virus.
Rishabh Saini V-Log 076 (2023/Hindi/10 mins) Dir. Kritik V. An early morning V-Log leads a man to be a part of an elaborate prank.
Viral( Hindi, Marathi, Urdu/2022/ 23 mins) Dir. Shreyas Dasharathe. Shiny and Bandu are avid fans of Hammad, an egg-seller from Karachi who has found a huge online following in their city of Mumbai but is virtually unknown in his own vicinity. They connect online and what follows is a heartfelt journey to a promising friendship that exists in the borderless realm of the online world.
A retired professor suddenly goes missing. Time passes by, life goes on, but his children and wife keep on looking back, trying to find their way through emotional torrents of the past and the present.