The second edition of India’s Cinevesture International Film Festival (Ciff) has unveiled its CinéV-chd Market lineup featuring 22 diverse projects from established and emerging filmmakers, with more than half being women-oriented ventures.
The curated selection, which will run alongside the festival from March 20-23, in Chandigarh, spotlights creative forces who have made significant contributions to Indian cinema, spanning languages including Chinese, English, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Urdu, Gujarati, Telugu, Bengali, and Kannada.
“Sister Midnight” actor Radhika Apte steps into the director’s chair for “Koyta” (Sickle), produced by acclaimed filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane (“Black Warrant”). The Hindi/Marathi action-fantasy follows a young migrant sugarcane cutter who gains superpowers after a forced medical procedure and uses them to free her family from debt.
Veteran director Hansal Mehta, known for “Shahid” and “Scam 1992,” produces “Hanere De Panchi” (Birds in the Dark), a drama in the Punjabi, Urdu and Kashmiri languages, from emerging director Shashank Walia,...
The curated selection, which will run alongside the festival from March 20-23, in Chandigarh, spotlights creative forces who have made significant contributions to Indian cinema, spanning languages including Chinese, English, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Urdu, Gujarati, Telugu, Bengali, and Kannada.
“Sister Midnight” actor Radhika Apte steps into the director’s chair for “Koyta” (Sickle), produced by acclaimed filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane (“Black Warrant”). The Hindi/Marathi action-fantasy follows a young migrant sugarcane cutter who gains superpowers after a forced medical procedure and uses them to free her family from debt.
Veteran director Hansal Mehta, known for “Shahid” and “Scam 1992,” produces “Hanere De Panchi” (Birds in the Dark), a drama in the Punjabi, Urdu and Kashmiri languages, from emerging director Shashank Walia,...
- 3/6/2025
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Director Karan Tejpal, whose debut “Stolen” (2023) premiered in Venice’s Horizon’s strand before screening at BFI London Film Festival, Zurich Film Festival, and SXSW Sydney, has boarded Indian psychological horror feature “Ummeed” (Hope). The project, selected for the Berlin European Film Market’s Fiction Toolbox Program at Berlinale 2025, is aiming for a November production start.
The film follows a same-sex couple in small-town India pursuing parenthood through illegal sperm donation. When Tithi cannot conceive, her partner Rahi becomes pregnant, leading to a descent into paranoia fueled by societal harassment and dark secrets about the pregnancy itself.
“Though it’s wrapped in thick atmospheric dread, ‘Ummeed’ deeply moved me with the emotional complexity of the characters and their resilience against societal prejudice,” says Tejpal. “More than a psychological horror film, this is a story about redemption and hope.”
The screenplay comes from Abhishek Banerjee, known for the horror film “Pari...
The film follows a same-sex couple in small-town India pursuing parenthood through illegal sperm donation. When Tithi cannot conceive, her partner Rahi becomes pregnant, leading to a descent into paranoia fueled by societal harassment and dark secrets about the pregnancy itself.
“Though it’s wrapped in thick atmospheric dread, ‘Ummeed’ deeply moved me with the emotional complexity of the characters and their resilience against societal prejudice,” says Tejpal. “More than a psychological horror film, this is a story about redemption and hope.”
The screenplay comes from Abhishek Banerjee, known for the horror film “Pari...
- 2/12/2025
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Former Netflix producer Dimpy Agrawal’s production banner Gubbara Entertainment has unveiled a slate of six projects at India’s Film Bazaar, including a project starring Anasuya Sengupta, who made history as the first Indian actor to win best performance at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard for “The Shameless.”
Sengupta will headline short “Ma,” penned by Columbia University Mfa graduate Riddhi Talreja (“Sadak Chaap”), examining women’s identity and motherhood in contemporary Indian society. The project has attached cinematographer Amal Sudhakaran, whose work has appeared on Netflix, Amazon, and Discovery, with one credit gaining Emmy recognition.
The slate includes “Puthussery Police Case” from writer-director Nithin Lukose, whose debut “Paka: River of Blood” premiered at Toronto in 2021. The Kerala-set drama follows a lawyer investigating his father’s death against the backdrop of a tiger threatening a rural village.
“Ummeed,” a psychological horror exploring same-sex relationships and fertility in Delhi, comes from “Pari...
Sengupta will headline short “Ma,” penned by Columbia University Mfa graduate Riddhi Talreja (“Sadak Chaap”), examining women’s identity and motherhood in contemporary Indian society. The project has attached cinematographer Amal Sudhakaran, whose work has appeared on Netflix, Amazon, and Discovery, with one credit gaining Emmy recognition.
The slate includes “Puthussery Police Case” from writer-director Nithin Lukose, whose debut “Paka: River of Blood” premiered at Toronto in 2021. The Kerala-set drama follows a lawyer investigating his father’s death against the backdrop of a tiger threatening a rural village.
“Ummeed,” a psychological horror exploring same-sex relationships and fertility in Delhi, comes from “Pari...
- 11/21/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
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