Hindi
Kshay voted best narrative feature at IFFLA
MUMBAI: Of late, a spate of India-made films has been doing the rounds at international film festivals and has been suitably rewarded.
One such film is director Karan Gour‘s Kshay, an intense psychological study of a woman‘s obsession with an unfinished statue of the Goddess Lakshmi. Shot in stark black-and-white, the film has travelled to four international film festivals already with many more in the offing. The film recently won the ‘Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature‘ at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA).
Said producer Shaan Vyas,” Kshay has taken us four years to complete and was made with a two-man crew at most times: the director Karan Gour and the Director of Photography Abhinay Khoparzi. The film is about obsession made by an obsessive person and, more importantly, the larger issues it addresses of materialistic obsession and blind faith in religion that are very relevant in today‘s world.”
And the fact that it probably has the lowest budget of all the feature films at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles makes this win that much more exciting. “It reinforces our belief that you don‘t need big budgets to make a good movie. Four years of Karan and Abhinay‘s relentless effort is paying off now,” said Vyas.
Other award winners were Gemma Atwal‘s Marathon Boy that got the award for best documentary while an honorable mention went to Rajan Khosa‘s Gattu.
The award for the best short went to Neeraj Ghaywan‘s Noise (Shor) and Ravi Kapoor‘s The 5, while actress Meera Simhan won an award for her performance in Sujata, each receiving an honorable mention.
Rajan Khosa took home a second honour of the evening when Gattu won the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature while the Audience Choice award for best documentary went to Gotham Chopra for his Decoding Deepak. Anirban Roy won the Audience Choice Award for best short film for Audacity (Aashprodha), according to a release.
Hindi
MIFF 2026 to return to Mumbai; film entries open till April 12
19th edition to host WAVES Doc Bazaar, spotlighting global documentary talent
MUMBAI: The 19th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival 2026 is set to take place from June 15 to 21 at the NFDC Complex, with film submissions currently open and the deadline fast approaching on April 12.
Organised by the National Film Development Corporation under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the biennial festival remains one of South Asia’s most prominent platforms for documentary, short fiction and animation films.
Filmmakers, producers and content creators from across the globe have been invited to submit entries via the Film Freeway platform for the Competition Section. Offline submissions will not be accepted, reinforcing a fully digital entry process.
MIFF 2026 continues to sweeten the deal with a robust awards pool of Rs 55 lakh. The coveted Golden Conch for Best Documentary carries a top prize of Rs 10 lakh, alongside multiple awards across categories, making it one of the most lucrative non-feature film festivals in the region.
A key highlight this year will be the second edition of the WAVES Doc Bazaar, scheduled from June 16 to 18 alongside the festival. Designed as a hub for collaboration, the Doc Bazaar will feature a co-production market, viewing rooms and a work-in-progress lab, bringing together global buyers, sellers and creators under one roof.
Since its inception in 1990, MIFF has built a reputation as a serious showcase for non-feature cinema, drawing participation from filmmakers worldwide. The previous edition saw over 350 films from more than 30 countries, underlining its growing international footprint.
With submissions closing soon and preparations underway, MIFF 2026 is shaping up to be a vibrant meeting point for storytelling, collaboration and cinematic craft, offering filmmakers both a stage and a springboard.
