Rhythms of Maharashtra :  Lavani & Jogwa

A Folk Dance & Music Performance from Maharashtra

Presented by Amrapali Lavani Loknritya Kala Manch, Maharashtra

Led by Ritu Akash Bahadure; Musicians, Lokesh on Keyboard; Ajay and Rahul on Dholki; Divya on Vocal; Dancers, Riya, Mehak, Soumya, Arshad, Akash and Samrudhi.

Present the vibrant traditions of Lavani and Jogwa, two distinctive folk forms of Maharashtra that seamlessly blend music, dance, rhythm, and storytelling. Through energetic choreography and evocative performances, it will celebrate the region's rich cultural heritage while reflecting themes of devotion, resilience, and the lived experiences of its communities

(Collaboration: NCZCC, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India)

Victoria

(2024; 85 minutes; Malayalam with English subtitles)
Director: Sivaranjini

With Meenakshi Jayan, Stephy Zaviour, Jolly Chirayath

Recipient of the FIPRESCI Award for Best Malayalam Film by a Debut Director at IFFK 2024; Official Selection, Shanghai International Film Festival (Asia New Talent Competition).

Victoria is a young beautician working in a modest beauty parlour in Kerala. On a day that promises a new beginning, she prepares to leave behind the life she has always known and elope with the man she loves. As the hours unfold, however, a series of encounters with the women around her, friends, colleagues and clients compel her to reflect on the choices before her. As Victoria finds herself increasingly torn between duty and desire, certainty and doubt, the film becomes a sensitive exploration of agency, companionship and the courage required to chart one's own course.

(Collaboration: FIPRESCI India)
 

Yakasi's Daughter
(2025; 74 minutes; Mising with English subtitles)
Director: Jayanta Madhab Dutta
With Rina Dole, Diganta Pegu 
Fourteen-year-old Jariyum lives with her family on a remote river island in Assam, where annual floods, poverty and isolation shape everyday life. A member of the Mising community, she dreams of a future different from that of her mother, Yakasi, whose life has been marked by hardship and domestic drudgery. As Jariyum prepares to elope with her young fiancé in the hope of a better life, she finds herself confronting the realities of the world around her and the uncertainties that lie ahead. 

 (Collaboration: FIPRESCI India)

Whispers of the Mountains
(2025; 90 minutes; Rajasthani with English subtitles)
Director: Jigar Nagda

With Harshant Sharma, Rajveer Rao and Kunal Mehta.

Official Selection, Indian Panorama, 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI); Official Selection, Indian Language Competition, Kolkata International Film Festival 2025.

Set in Rajasthan's rugged Aravalli region, the film follows Tilak, a widowed tea stall owner struggling to make ends meet, and his twelve-year-old mute son Raghu, who shares a deep and instinctive bond with the mountains surrounding their village. While Tilak sees mining as a path to economic survival, Raghu witnesses the gradual destruction of the landscape he loves. When a scholarship offers him the possibility of a different future, he finds himself torn between personal aspirations and familial responsibilities. As economic hardship and environmental degradation increasingly shape their lives, the fragile relationship between father and son is tested. 

(Collaboration: FIPRESCI India)

Adamya
(2026; 110 minutes; Bengali with English subtitles)
Director: Ranjan Ghosh

With Aryuun Ghosh, Senjuti Mukhopadhyay, Relish Hoque and Sourya Madrajee.

Palash, a young man caught in the turbulent currents of contemporary politics, finds his life irrevocably altered when a political assassination goes tragically wrong. Forced to flee and live as a fugitive, he embarks on a journey through a landscape marked by fear, uncertainty and shifting loyalties. As he struggles to evade capture and come to terms with the consequences of his actions, the boundaries between conviction, survival and morality begin to blur.

(Collaboration: FIPRESCI India)

Magazine
(2025; 110 minutes; Marathi with English subtitles)
Director: Shubham Sanjay Shevade

With Atul Parchure, Dr. Nilesh Mane, Kishore Kadam, Raghav Vartak, Shivaji Satam, Sudarshan Deshmukh, Vedika Kulkarni

A restless young cinephile leaves the city behind and returns to his ancestral village in search of meaning and inspiration. Amidst sprawling sugarcane fields and the rhythms of rural life, he gradually discovers a world shaped by quiet dignity, human connection and an unhurried sense of belonging. What begins as a temporary escape evolves into a journey of self-discovery, revealing that the most profound stories are often found in life's simplest moments.

(Collaboration: FIPRESCI India)
 

If on a Winter’s Night
(2025;100 minutes; Malayalam with English subtitles)
Director: Sanju Surendran

With Bhanu Priyamvada, Roshan Abdul Rahoof, Raichel Samuel, Arathy K. B. and Shobhana Sharma.

Recipient of the Hylife Vision Award at the 30th Busan International Film Festival (2025); North American Premiere, New Directors/New Films 2026, Film at Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Sarah and Abhi, a young couple from Kerala, move to Delhi in search of a new life together, hoping to build a future shaped by love, creativity and independence. Far from home, however, they find themselves confronting the realities of life in an unfamiliar city, precarious employment, financial uncertainty, language barriers and the subtle prejudices faced by outsiders. As mounting pressures begin to test both their ambitions and their relationship, the promise of reinvention gives way to a more complex understanding of adulthood and belonging.

(Collaboration: FIPRESCI India)