The 9^th Auroville Film Festival 2026 got off to a brilliant start on the 18^th of January 2026 with a live music performance by Auroville band NoizeGate playing Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The Auroville Film Festival, organised by residents of Auroville, aims to showcase films that attempt to foster a deeper understanding of the aspirations of Auroville through a creative engagement with the medium of cinema, as well as turning film-viewing from a passive activity into an intimate dialogue between artist and audience. The festival screens films that reflect the creative, experimental and spiritual research Auroville is dedicated to.

During the week, the festival featured 48 films in the category of films made by residents of Auroville, the bioregion and Pondicherry. Made with local participation, the films in this category form a mosaic bringing together the local creative community in an exchange of documentaries, ideas and stories. The richness of the selection in this category featured prominent local filmmakers like Stanzin Raghu, Alessandra Silver, Serena Aurora, Lesley Branagan, Aurovenkatesh, Cheenu Wild, Jeremy Carroll, Yuvasri, Smiti, Yatra Srinivassan and Jalil Nordman. There were some exciting experimental shorts proposed by Nefertiti Chakrabarti. Emerging filmmakers like Ravikiran Rangaswamy, Lisbeth Nusselein, Birgitta Volz, Uttara Jadeja, Sampriti Roy, Donny Lee Duke, Nandha Kumar, Rishi Vengadesan, Gobinath Mounissamy, Kanchan Avchare, Mukul Kumar, Divya Mani, Karthik K, Magheshwar Kumaran, Lalit Verma and Anna-Maria Bakhtiarova had a warm reception.

There were 8 films in the category of films made about Auroville, the bioregion and Pondicherry. This selection of films by visiting filmmakers about Auroville and the bioregion, its various projects, people and undertakings, brings home the image of our region as it appears to the world outside. International filmmakers in this category included Joseh Garcia and Alan Baiss from Canada. Exceptional films that were screened in this category were made by the students of the Auroville Film Institute, including Santosh, Polash, Kartik, Sai Krishna, Stanzin, Jahnavi, Amogh, Pia, Partha, Yoni, and Logeswaran.

Managed by Richa Hushing and Rrivu Laha (graduates of FTII), the Auroville Film Institute offers regular courses, both online and on site, featuring well known independent filmmakers as faculty.

There were 47 films in the category of films that develop the theme of human unity. This segment features a carefully curated selection of short and feature-length films that dwell upon themes of human unity and values similar to that of Auroville, accompanied by discussions that further elaborate on these themes. The category featured the work of filmmakers from around the world including Shonali Bose, Sreemoyee Singh, Nishtha Jain, Tarun Jain, Tathagata Ghosh, Rizwan Hussain, Bijukumar Damodaran, Aajad Singh Khichi, Piyush Thakur and Rima Das, to name just a few. The film Wisdom Of Happiness featuring the Dalai Lama was one of the well appreciated films.

Eminent jury members for the Aurovilian films included Premendra Mazumder (Vice President of the Federation of Film Societies of India, Ashavari Majumdar (Director of the Manifest Dance-Film Festival), and Dr. T Balasaravanan (Dept of Electronic Media and Mass Communications, Pondy University). Jury members from Auroville were Rajeev, Nitzan and Gita and they decided the winning films in the human unity category.

The screenings were held at three venues (CRIPA, Kalabhumi Amphitheatre and MMC/CP) and were complemented by outdoor music performances, discussions (at Centre d’Art), and an art installation.

The proliferation of digital cameras and the constantly improving quality of smartphone cameras

have made it possible for just about anyone to make their own movie, and one of the goals of the

Auroville Film Festival is to showcase and encourage local talent in this field. Part of the festival is, therefore, a Kino Kabaret! Kino Kabarets are events where artists collaborate to create films within 48 hours and, in our festival, all these films were screened on the last day.

The importance of festivals organised by the residents of Auroville can never be overstated, especially in the way they contribute to local vitality and stimulate cultural development in Auroville. The outdoor screenings and performances and the crowds they drew further testify to the power of outdoor arts to bring together audiences that might otherwise not take the trouble to attend art events.

This festival aims to bring people and cultures together within Auroville and beyond, thereby furthering the aspiration of human unity. With the ninth edition of the Auroville Film Festival the experience was one that went beyond film-viewing, turning it into a truly fulfilling cultural experience.

WINNING FILMS IN THE CATEGORY OF FILMS MADE BY AUROVILIANS AND RESIDENTS OF THE BIOREGION

Mongbra Award :

MORIBUND by Birgitta Volz : This impactful film highlights the resilience and creativity of the Auroville community as it faces ecological and other challenges.

Cinema Paradiso Award :

SOUND OF AIR by Rishi Vengadesan :  The film stands out with its treatment of sound and image reinforcing its choice of an interesting subject.

Wisdom award:

ECM’ 24 by Nefertiti Chakrabarti : A sensitive and complex tribute to the Endangered Crafts Mela that conveys the transformative experience of learning and apprenticeship in Auroville.

The Jury Award was shared by two films

Jury Award 1 :

EARLY YEARS IN AUROVILLE by Lisbeth Nusselein : This film blends archival photographs with an autobiographical narrative that invites the audience to reflect on the journeys and voices that have built Auroville.

Jury Award 2 :

30 YEARS OF KEEPING THE MUSIC FLOWING by Serena Aurora :  This film highlights the insipiring effort by Aurovillians to harmonise its diverse notes and sing in one voice – a metaphor for the community as a whole.

WINNING FILMS IN THE CATEGORY OF FILMS MADE ABOUT AUROVILLE AND THE BIOREGION

Cinema Paradiso Award :

REFLEKT by Santosh Manik: The film is a tribute to the transformative power of cinema tracing the directors journey from being a student of technique to emerging as an artist in the vibrant spiritual landscape of Auroville.

Wisdom Award :

NOTES FOR THE SELF by Jahnavi Pradeep: The film effectively uses Aurovilles landscape to depict the tensions and harmonies of a mother-daughter relationship as a poignant visual poem.

Jury Award :

BLOOMING HOUR by Logeswaran M – An honest, lyrical exposition of the beauty of mornings.

WINNING FILMS IN THE CATEGORY OF FILMS THAT DEVELOP THE THEME OF HUMAN UNITY

Cinema Paradiso Award:

AGENT OF HAPPINESS by Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó  : This documentary takes place in Bhutan. In 2008, Bhutan adopted the Gross National Happiness index, intended as a holistic way of measuring quality of life. The movie follows two agents who are hired to travel around Bhutan to carry out the Gross National Happiness survey. The film highlights happiness as a complex and personal experience, shaped by inner states and external conditions. Along the way, we witness a blossoming love story, moments of hope and disappointment, humour, and the beauty of the country itself.

Wisdom Award:

PATROL by Camilo de Castro and Brad Allgood : Patrol takes us through the rainforest in the Indio Maíz Reserve in Nicaragua. Rapid illegal deforestation is taking place to feed the growing demand for meat, especially for export to the USA. The documentary follows the Rama-Kriol people, who are determined to protect the forest in a peaceful yet powerful way. They collect data and travel across Nicaragua and finally the world to take legal action and bring the issue to light. They show a deep love for nature and an understanding of all humanity’s dependence on the health of the rainforest. The film shows how structural and economic pressures are driving environmental destruction.

Jury Award:

NO OTHER LAND : It depicts the generations long struggle on an almost barren area that is dotted with tiny villages. It allows viewers to experience the daily lives of the villagers and shows their humanity and ability to find moments of joy and laughter amidst hardship and brutality. The movie depicts human resilience and persistence in the face of crushing failures as well as the power of the powerless.

Special Mention:

FARMING THE REVOLUTION by Nishtha Jain : The film depicts the collective strength of farmers, who across generations and social backgrounds, come together to defend their livelihood. It shows how a shared purpose can become a unifying force.

THIS FESTIVAL WAS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF:

A_lineMeant to Be, Aaro, Aashay, Akash, Amy, Anand, Anandi, Aneeta, Ann, Arul, Arun, Ashwin, Aurosylle, Auroville Bakery Cafeteria, Auroville Radio, AVI Germany, Binu Kumar, brainfever media productions, Brothers House, Centre d’Art, Chandra, Christoph K, Coffee Ideas, CRIPA, Daljeet, Damien, Dhananjey, Dharmesh, Dhruv, Divya, Dominique, Dustudio, Edo, Elaine, Elena, Erik, Fabienne, Fakirah, Fred, Glenn, Goyo, Gustavo, Guy, Hibiscus Art Village, InLight, Jayala, Jean Francois, Jenny, Jenya, Jethin, Joy, Julietta, Jurriaan,  Kalabhumi Music Studio, Kripa, Krishna, Kshitij, Laura, Laxmanan, Lella, Liliana, Malina, Marco S, Mathilde, Melody, Miniature, MMC/CP, Moghan, My Favourite Things, Nadaprem, Nandha, Naturellement, Nausheen, Nina, Nirami, Noizegate, Odile, Pala, Palani, Pavneet, Prasad, Ramesh, Rashmi, Raul, Renu, Right Path Café, Rob, Robin, Rolf, Rosie, Rugved, Saga and his team, Shakti, Sakthi Arts, Salman, Sandra, Sasi, Shanti, Sharmili, Simon, Softnet, Sundar, Sunlit Future, Surendhar, Suryan, Suzy, Swar, Sylvie, Tixon, Tlaloc, Tommaso, Utkarsh, Valerie, Venkatesh, Verena, Yunsung, and many more who offered their support as a sadhana.

Thank you!

Fotos: Marco Saroldi

The winner of the Jury Award is the movie No Other Land. It depicts the generations long struggle on an almost barren area that is dotted with tiny villages. It allows viewers to experience the daily lives of the villagers and shows their humanity and ability to find moments of joy and laughter amidst hardship and brutality. The movie depicts human resilience and persistence in the face of crushing failures as well as the power of the powerless.

The Cinema Paradiso Award goes to the movie Agents of Happiness. This documentary takes place in Bhutan. In 2008, Bhutan adopted the Gross National Happiness index, intended as a holistic way of measuring quality of life. The movie follows two agents who are hired to travel around Bhutan to carry out the Gross National Happiness survey. The film highlights happiness as a complex and personal experience, shaped by inner states and external conditions. Along the way, we witness a blossoming love story, moments of hope and disappointment, humour, and the beauty of the country itself.

The Wisdom Award is given to the movie Patrol. Patrol takes us through the rainforest in the Indio Maíz Reserve in Nicaragua. Rapid illegal deforestation is taking place to feed the growing demand for meat, especially for export to the USA. The documentary follows the Rama-Kriol people, who are determined to protect the forest in a peaceful yet powerful way. They collect data and travel across Nicaragua and finally the world to take legal action and bring the issue to light. They show a deep love for nature and an understanding of all humanity’s dependence on the health of the rainforest. The film shows how structural and economic pressures are driving environmental destruction.

We would also like to extend a special mention to the film Farming the Revolution. The film depicts the collective strength of the farmers, who across generations and social backgrounds, come together to defend their livelihood. It shows how a shared purpose can become a unifying force.

Category: By AV

Jury Award 1 :

EARLY YEARS IN AUROVILLE : This film blends archival photographs with a autobiographical narrative that invites the audience to reflect on the journeys and voices that have built Auroville

Jury Award 2 :

30 YEARS OF KEEPING THE MUSIC FLOWING :  This film highlights the insipiring effort by Aurovillians to harmonise its diverse notes and sing in one voice – a metaphor for the community as a whole.

Cinema Paradiso Award :

SOUND OF AIR :  The film stands out with its treatment of sound and image reinforcing its choice of an interesting subject.

Wisdom award:

ECM’ 24 : A sensitive and complex tribute to the Endangered Crafts Mela that conveys the transformative experience of learning and apprenticeship in Auroville.

Mongbra Award :

MORIBUND : This impactful film highlights the resilience and creativity of the Auroville community as it faces ecological and other challenges .

Category: About AV

Jury Award :

BLOOMING HOUR – An honest, lyrical exposition of the beauty of mornings.

Cinema Paradiso Award :

REFLEKT The film is a tribute to the transformative power of cinema tracing the directors journey from being a student of technique to emerging as an artist in the vibrant spiritual landscape of Auroville

Wisdom Award

NOTES FOR THE SELF: The film effectively uses Aurovilles landscape to depict the tensions and harmonies of a mother-daughter relationship as a poignant visual poem

Enjoy live music performances every evening at Kalabhumi, with the option to pre-book warm dinners. Dinner coupons will be available outside the Solar Kitchen on the 15th and 16th of January from 12.00-14.00. For more info about the dinners, send a W/A message to: 7540091255.

Join the Kino Kabaret, make a film in 48hrs and have it screened immediately! Email kinoauroville@gmail.com to register.

We are still looking for volunteers. Call 7418105246 to find out how you can participate.

Screenings are Free & Open to All. Spread the word!

Download the program as pdf here

Locations:

Centre D’Art

CRIPA

Kalabhumi

MMC

Contact: 9159355809 or 9884120010

Schedule for the AVFF26 in html: Program in Html here

Locations:

Centre D’Art

CRIPA

Kalabhumi

MMC

InLight warmly welcomes the community to the AVFF ‘26 panel discussions with filmmakers at the multimedia room at Centre d’Art. Food and beverages are not permitted inside the hall. You can join all discussion in person or online: https://tinyurl.com/avff26 

Monday 19 January, 2026

• 17:00 | Panelists: Nishtha Jain (Farming The Revolution), Alessandra Silver (The Owl-Eyed Guardian And The Banyan Dream), Divya Mani (Anything Or Everything Could Be Theatre)

Wednesday 21 January, 2026

• 17:00 | Panelists: Nefertiti Chakrabarti (Moon Juice), David Mboussou (Afrotōpia), Tarun Jain (Ballad Of The Mountain), Alan Baiss, Joseh Garcia (Who Do You Think You Are?), Imran Hamdulay (The Wait), Ravikiran Rangaswamy (Conversations)

Saturday 24 January, 2026

• 17:00 | Panelists: Jeremy Carroll (Food Pills), Anna-Maria Bakhtiarova (India Textile), Yatra Srinivassan (Kooli Koduthu Sooniyam), Stanzin (Trashy Film), Lesley Branagan (Bride of Aravan), Serena Aurora (30 Years of keeping the Music Flowing – Auroville Choir)

Sunday 25 January, 2026

• Panelists: Tathagata Ghosh (My Comrade), Shonali Bose/Nilesh Maniyar (A Fly On The Wall), Rizwan Hussain (In The Name Of), Pankaj Gupta (Cricket Dreams), Shokir Kholikov (Sunday), Richa Hushing (Auroville Film Institute)

Location https://maps.app.goo.gl/yTXCkimce5wdaAbdA

Multimedia Center (MMC) Auditorium

Film Program: 19th January 2026 – 25th January 2026 The community is warmly welcomed to the AVFF ‘26 screenings at MMC. Doors open 15 minutes before showtime. Food and beverages are not permitted inside the hall.

Monday 19 January 2026

• 19:00 | Birds Of Puducherry 1.0 (India, 2025, Dir. Gopinath Mounissamy, 7min, NR G) Showcasing the beauty of birds around Puducherry to convey a message against littering in nature.
• 19:07 | Patrol (Nicaragua, 2023, Dir. Camilo de Castro w/ Brad Allgood, 80min, NR R) Indigenous rangers join forces with conservationists to expose the dark world of “conflict beef” decimating rainforests.
• 20:09 | Sound Of A Land (India, 2025, Dir. Yoni Vell, 14min, NR R) A personal documentary about the inner state of being a hunted Jew, shaped by history and memory. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.
• 20:23 | Conversations/Baatein (India, 2024, Dir. Ravikiran Rangaswamy, 5min, NR G) A reflection on the power of love and language between two young children.
• 20:27 | In Ultimo (Italy, 2023, Dir. Mario Balsamo, 66min, NR R) The story of a palliative care physician whose devotion to gardening parallels his work with the terminally ill.
• 21:34 | Last Drop (India, 2024, Dir. Jeremy Carroll, 8min, NR G) In a drought-stricken land, a man embarks on a journey to find the last remaining water source.

Tuesday 20 January 2026

• 19:00 | Notes For The Self (India, 2025, Dir. Jahnavi Pradeep, 11min, NR G) A portrait of the filmmaker’s mother and herself. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.
• 19:10 | Invisible Windows/Adrishya Jalakangal (India, 2023, Dir. Bijukumar Damodaran, 130min, NR R) Released from an asylum, a night watchman at a morgue begins experiencing strange things.

Wednesday 21 January, 2026

• 19:00 | Where is Humanity?/எங்கே மனிதநேயம்? (India, 2024, Dir. Magheshwar Kumaran, 6min, NR G) A vlogger visiting Auroville finds his curiosity captured by a quiet woman.
• 19:05 | ECM 2024 (India, 2024, Dir. Nefertiti Chakrabarti, 4min, NR G) Highlights the Endangered Craft Mela, an educational program celebrating the dignity of craftsmanship.
• 19:09 | Nature is Almighty/இயற்கை பெரியவன் (India, 2024, Dir. Nandha Kumar, 11min, NR R) A young man, consumed by rage, commits an uncontrollable act of fury.
• 19:20 | Food Pills (India, 2024, Dir. Jeremy Carroll, 9min, NR R) A look at how those who depleted our resources now control our food and lives. Selected for the Street Movies Festival.
• 19:30 | Free Words: A Poet From Ghaza (Egypt-Netherlands-Falasteen-Turkey, 2024, Dir. Abdullah Harun Ilhan, 23min, NR R) Follows Pulitzer-winner Mosab Abu Toha, whose art becomes a voice of resistance.
• 19:54 | Connection (Bailanysh)/Байланыш (Kyrgyzstan, 2024, Dir. Jandos Djoldoshov, 30min, NR R) A grandson’s arrival for a funeral in a mountain village creates unexpected tension.
• 20:24 | The Companions/La Compañía (Spain, 2024, Dir. José María Flores, 12min, NR R) A couple on their way to dinner encounters a crowd gathered around a mysterious event.
• 20:36 | Garbage/Mycop (India, 2024, Dir. Anna-Maria Bakhtiarova, 13min, NR R) The harsh realities of consumer society in Auroville and Pondicherry seen through the eyes of workers.
• 20:48 | A Land Beyond The Mountains (India, 2025, Dir. Smiti, 8min, NR G) A reflection on happiness while traveling through Bhutan.
• 20:56 | New Best Friends (India, 2025, Dir. Birgitta Volz, 3min, NR G) An unconventional perspective on recovery following a leg operation.
• 20:59 | The Matrimandir & I, Episode 1: Four People From Four Corners Of The World. One Connection. (India, 2025, Dir. Serena Aurora, 8min, NR G) Four Aurovilians speak about their personal experiences with the Matrimandir.
• 21:07 | Auroville: The City Of The Future (Russia-India, 2023, Dir. Anna-Maria Bakhtiarova, 13min, NR G) A film about restoring ecological balance in south India, nominated at the Yalta Film Festival.
• 21:20 | Water in the Mountains/Pahadon Mei Paani (India, 2025, Dir. Karthik K, 12min, NR G) The story of installing a solar pump at 13,000 feet in the Spiti Valley.

Thursday 22 January, 2026

• 19:00 | Cricket Dreams (India-Netherlands, 2025, Dir. Jamillah van der Hulst, 77min, NR G) Nine former street children from Delhi compete in the Street Child Cricket World Cup in Chennai.
• 20:17 | One Side Of The Road (India, 2024, Dir. Jalil Nordman, 88min, NR G) A road in Tamil Nadu serves as a frontier between emancipation and subordination for local villagers.

Friday 23 January, 2026

• 19:00 | Puffling (UK-Iceland, 2023, Dir. Jessica Bishopp, 20min, NR G) Two teenagers rescue young puffins on a remote island, exploring youth action in environmental issues.
• 19:20 | Dear Daughter (2023, 13min, NR R) A young woman tells her story of being trafficked and sold into marriage.
• 19:33 | How Would One Know If One Forgets Something (India, 2025, Dir. Karthik Sreenivasan w/ Sai Krishna, Stanzin Angdu, 9min, NR G) Traces memory and the passage of time in the landscape of Ladakh. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.
• 19:42 | Kooli Koduthu Sooniyam (India, 2023, Dir. Yatra Srinivassan, 9min, NR PG-15) A tale of a family torn apart by addiction and their subsequent resilience.
• 19:51 | You Lift on a Stroke, There Is A Dog Shelter (India, 2025, Dir. Donny Lee Duke, 17min, NR G) A video-poem about the Auroville Dog Shelter and its place within the community’s aims.
• 20:08 | Hausnummer Null (Germany, 2025, Dir. Lilith Kugler, 95min, NR R) Explores a young man’s struggle to find his place in society after never fitting in.

Saturday 24 January, 2026

• 19:00 | Purga (Lithuania, 2024, Dir. Gintarė Valevičiūtė Brazauskienė w/ Antanas Skučas, 13min, NR R) Based on true memories of deported people struggling to survive in the Arctic Circle in 1942.
• 19:13 | Agent of Happiness (Bhutan, 2024, Dir. Arun Bhattarai w/ Dorottya Zurbo, 94min, NR R) Amber travels the mountains measuring happiness for the Bhutanese government while searching for his own.
• 20:47 | In The Light Of Time (India, 2025, Dir. Jahnavi Pradeep w/ Amogh Chauhan, 12min, NR G) Centred on prehistoric rock art, exploring how the past informs our need to create for the future. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.
• 20:59 | The Voice Of Others/La Voix Des Autres (France, 2023, Dir. Fatima Kaci, 30min, NR R) A Tunisian interpreter in France faces her own history while translating the stories of exiled people.

Sunday 25 January, 2026

• 19:00 | A Few of the Winning Films

Live Music / Film Screenings at Kalabhumi Amphitheatre

Program: 18th January 2026 – 25th January 2026

Shakti Arts warmly welcomes the community to live music performances and a selection of films curated by AVFF ’26.

Sunday 18 January, 2026

Performance

• 18:00 | Live Music: Creedence Clearwater Revival

Screenings

• 19:30 | Farming The Revolution (India, 2024, Dir. Nishtha Jain, 105min, NR R) In 2020 Gurbaz Sangha, a young Punjabi farmer led thousands to Delhi protesting new Farm Laws. Joined by over half a million from diverse backgrounds they remained at borders despite COVID lockdown, vowing to stay until laws were repealed.
• 21:15 | Purna Maha Kumbh Mela (India 2025, Dir. Lalit Verma, 22min, NR G) Experience the Purna Maha Kumbh Mela. A journey within.
• 21:37 | The Waves Will Never Stop (India, 2025, Dir. Karthik Sreenivasan w/ Sai Krishna L V, Sanjana Reddy, 10min, NR G) Fisherman Narayanan carries memories of the 2004 Tsunami that shattered his village. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.
• 21:47 | The Poetics Of Change (India, 2025, Dir. Logeswaran M, 10min, NR G) Experimental narrative, exploring Ladakh as a time capsule through juxtaposed shots. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.

Monday 19 January, 2026

Performance

• 18:00 | Live Music: A Line Meant To Be

Screenings

• 19:30 | Moon Juice/Chander Rosh (India, 2025, Dir. Nefertiti Chakrabarti, 3min, NR G) Shot on a single reel of super 8 film with no editing. Premiered at Straight 8 2025 at the British Film Institute.
• 19:33 | Moribund: An Art Project (India, 2025, Dir. Birgitta Volz, 6min, NR G) Dedicated to Auroville, currently under pressure. Presents the destruction of Auroville as symbolic of environmental vandalism. Birgitta’s art reflects the crisis.
• 19:39 | Moments Of Joy (India, 2025, Dir. Santosh Manik, 11min, NR G) A poetic journey into the mind of Ladakhi poet Padma Angmo. Her verses blend with the rhythms of nature and daily life, asking us to slow down and rediscover joy in simplicity. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.
• 19:50 | Afrotōpia (Gabon, 2025, Dir. David Mboussou, 128min, NR G) Set in Equatorial Africa, in the heart of the Congo Basin, the film follows Ezekiel, a 25-year-old aspiring filmmaker who lives under the authority of his father, Maurice, a powerful businessman who opposes his artistic ambitions.

Tuesday 20 January, 2026

Performance

• 18:00 | Live Music: Suryan

Screenings

• 19:30 | The Cosmic Atomic/Brahmandam Pindandam (India, 2025, Dir. Kanchan Avchare, 20min, NR G) Traces the journey of civilization from the harnessing of fire through technology. An absurdist take on the purposelessness of the universe.
• 19:49 | Bride Of Aravan (India, 2023, Dir. Lesley Branagan, 49min, NR G) Captures the register of life as a transgender woman in south India through the protagonist Bawadharini.
• 20:39 | I Stole Your Ashes/He Robado Tus Cenizas (Spain, 2024, Dir. Felipe Olaya, 23min, NR R) Isabel has become a widow at 65. After stealing the urn of ashes, Isabel takes refuge in a park to say goodbye to the love of her life.
• 21:02 | Ballad Of The Mountain (India, 2024, Dir. Tarun Jain, 17min, NR G) An outcast girl must fight the bullies and overcome her fears to pursue her ambition to fly to the other side of the mountain.
• 21:19 | The Nightingale’s Song (UK-USA, 2024, Dir. Adam Loften w/ Emmanuel Vaughn-Lee, 40min, NR G) The voices of nightingales have lit up the forests of England for over a million years. As climate change impacts their grounds, they may disappear within 50 years.

Wednesday 21 January, 2026

Performance

• 18:00 | Live Music: Auroville Trio

Screenings

• 19:30 | Why/Чому (Ukraine-Spain, 2023, Dir. Natxo Leuza Fernandez, 22min, NR R) Why do they humiliate us? Why do they take everything from us? Why do I have to run away?
• 19:52 | The First Film (India, 2024, Dir. Piyush Thakur, 24min, NR G) In a small town of 1960’s India, where cinema is forbidden for women, a 14-year-old embarks on a quest to watch her first film.
• 20:16 | Dear Beautiful Beloved (Austria, 2024, Dir. Juri Rechinsky, 93min, NR R) There is a war going on in Europe. Our neighbors are fleeing from death and destruction. This film will give a face to some of their stories.
• 21:48 | Amudha (India, 2025, Dir, Rosann Robinson, 11min, NR G) Amudha is a young girl, who sells balloons near the beach. She and her sister are orphans.

Thursday 22 January, 2026

Performance

• 18:00 | Live Music: Jayala
• 18:30 | Live Music: Fakirah

Screenings

• 19:30 | Aloha ‘Āina (USA, 2024, Dir. Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee w/ Adam Loften, 47min, NR G) Today, Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio’s poetry is focused on protecting sacred sites and creating a future for Native Hawaiians rooted in ‘love for and of the land’.
• 20:17 | A Game of Destiny (India-UK, 2024, Dir. Zorba, 9min, NR G) At 6 years of age, Tibetan Kunsang found himself living in an orphanage as a refugee. 30 years later, Kunsang shares his story of life living in exile.
• 20:26 | Trashy Film/Kuppai Padam (India, 2025, Dir. Stanzin, 86min, NR G) A writer loses his laptop just before an important meeting and must race to find it with no memory of the last 12 hours.

Friday 23 January, 2026

Performance

• 18:00 | Live Music: Vera’s Jazz Band

Screenings

• 19:30 | Village Rockstars 2 (India, 2024, Dir. Rima Das, 108min, NR G) In a village in Assam, a teenage girl passionately chases her dream of becoming a musician. Faced with harsh realities, she seeks a new harmony.
• 21:18 | How Would One Know If One Forgets Something? (India, 2025, Dir. Karthik Sreenivasan w/ Sai Krishna L W, Stanzin Angdu, 9min, NR G) Traces memory, change, and the passage of time in the fragile landscape of Ladakh. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.
• 21:27 | Kooli Koduthu Sooniyam (India, 2023, Dir. Yatra Srinivassan, 9min, NR PG-13) A family torn apart by the protagonist’s alcohol addiction.
• 21:36 | You Lift On A Stroke, There’s A Dog Shelter (India, 2025, Dir. Donny Lee Duke, 17min, NR G) A video-photo-poem documentary about the Auroville Dog Shelter and the relationship between a human and the Supreme.

Saturday 24 January, 2026

Performance

• 18:00 | Live Music: Edo & crew

Screenings

• 19:30 | Purga (Lithuania, 2024, Dir. Gintarė Valevičiūtė Brazauskienė w/ Antanas Skučas, 13min, NR R) Winter, 1942. Beyond the Arctic Circle, on an uninhabited island, deported people struggle to survive.
• 19:43 | Agent Of Happiness (Bhutan, 2024, Dir. Arun Bhattarai w/ Dorottya Zurbó, 94min, NR R) Amber is one of the many agents working for the Bhutanese government to measure people’s happiness levels among the remote Himalayan mountains.
• 21:17 | In The Light Of Time (India, 2025, Dir. Jahnavi Pradeep w/ Amogh Chauhan, 13min, NR G) Centered on prehistoric rock art sites along the Indus and Zanskar rivers, the film is a ‘love story’ between past, present, and future. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.
• 21:29 | The Voice Of Others/La Voix Des Autres (France, 2023, Dir. Fatima Kaci, 30min, NR R) Rim is a Tunisian interpreter working in France on asylum procedures. Every day, she translates the stories of exiled men and women.

Sunday 25 January, 2026

• 17:00 | Awards

Performance

• 18:00 | Live Music: Blackcurrant

Screenings

• 19:30 | Reflekt (India, 2025, Dir. Santosh Manik, 11min, NR G) Chronicles a filmmaking residency at the Auroville Film Institute. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.
• 19:41 | Where’s Masi? (India, 2025, Dir. Uttara Jadeja, 10min, NR PG-13) A homemade horror film about a young woman racing to save her friend from a sinister entity.
• 19:50 | The Strange Case Of The Human Cannonball (Ecuador, 2024, Dir. Roberto Valencia, 10min, NR R) A mysterious man is found lying in the square of a village inhabited by only six residents.
• 20:01 | Films Created In The Kino Kabaret (Auroville, 2026, Multiple Directors, 120min, NR G) All films were created within 48 hours on the 23rd and 24th of January 2026. The short films have in common one prop, one sound effect and one line of dialogue.

Screenings at CRIPA

Film program: 18th January 2026 – 25th January 2026

CRIPA warmly welcomes the community to the AVFF ‘26 screenings. Doors open 15 minutes before showtime. For everyone’s enjoyment, kindly avoid crossing in front of the screen or using mobile phones when lights are off. Food and beverages are not permitted inside the hall.

Sunday 18 January, 2026

• 19:00 | Goodbye Julia (Sudan, 2023, Writer-Dir. Mohamed Kordofani, Feature, 120min, Arabic w/ English subtitles, NR R) Wracked by guilt after covering up a murder, Mona – a northern Sudanese retired singer in a tense marriage – tries to make amends by taking in the deceased’s southern Sudanese widow, Julia, and her son, Daniel, into her home. Awarded at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in France.
• 21:00 | The Owl-Eyed Guardian And The Banyan Dream (India, 2024, Writer-Dir. Alessandra Silver, Fiction, 59min, Tamil-English w/ English subtitles, NR G) This visually captivating and deeply spiritual film sheds light on the untold story of Andhayee, the enigmatic guardian of Auroville’s origins.
• 21:59 | Anything Or Everything Could Be Theatre (India, 2025, Writer-Editor-Camera-Dir. Divya Mani, Documentary, 22min, English, NR G) In the coastal serenity of Auroville, the 2025 Adishakti Theatre Festival unfolds as a celebration of performance, spirit, and human connection.

Monday 19 January, 2026

• 19:00 | Pushpa Ka Rickshaw (India, 2023, Dir. Aajad Singh Khichi, Documentary-Short, 16min, Nimadi-Malvi w/ English subtitles) In a remote village of Charbardi, in central India, Puspha Didi breaks the stereotype by driving the e-rickshaw, the first woman driver in the entire tehsil, not marred by people casting doubts on her capabilities.
• 19:15 | Wisdom Of Happiness (Switzerland, 2024, Dir. Barbara Miller w/ Philip Delaquis, Documentary, 90min, English, NR G) The film is a profound new cinematic exploration of the innermost world of the Dalai Lama, perfectly attuned to our times. In an intimate heart-to-heart, the world’s greatest ambassador of compassion invites everyone along for a journey to the source of happiness.
• 20:46 | Standing Alone (India, 2025, Producer-Writer-Editor-Camera-Dir. Smiti, Documentary, 75min, Tamil-English w/ English subtitles NR G) This documentary series looks at the individual life-journeys of 6 women who are single mothers from villages situated near Auroville. There are many more… Each has her own unique story and yet the hardships faced are common.
• 22:01 | Adventures Of Nono (India, 2025, Writer-Editor-Camera-Sound-Dir. Santosh Manik, Documentary, 20min, Hindi w/ English subtitles, NR G) Adventures of Nono is set in the highlands of Ladakh. It is an intimate observational documentary that follows the everyday world of a two-year-old boy “Nono”, a child full of life, curiosity, and courage. Produced by Auroville Film Festival.

Tuesday 20 January, 2026

• 19:00 | A Clay Connect (India, 2024, Editor-Dir. Serena Aurora, Documentary, 5min, English-Tamil w/ English subtitles, NR G) Traditional clay pottery in India is dying out since the younger generation has no interest in keeping the art form alive. This film captures the crossover of generations, featuring how contemporary and traditional styles blend to create unique pieces.
• 19:05 | An Afternoon With Das Anna (India, 2025, Writer-Editor-Camera-Sound-Dir. Pia Sukhija, Documentary, 6min, Silent, NR G) Set in the streets of Auroville, the City of Dawn, this no-dialogue documentary spends an afternoon with Das, a quiet cobbler in Auroville whose daily rituals unfold into the rhythm of the street. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.
• 19:11 | The Wait (South Africa, 2023, Writer-Dir. Imran Hamdulay, Short, 15min, Afrikaans-English-Xhosa w/ English subtitles, NR R) The film is an allegory of South Africa’s complex society, where a sense of powerlessness and hope exist together at all times.
• 19:26 | Go My Way/Yo Voy Conmigo (Spain, 2024, Writer-Dir. Chelo Loureiro, Animation-Short, 7min, Spanish w/ English subtitles, NR G) Elisa likes Martin, but Martin doesn’t seem to realise it. All the advice Elisa receives to make Martin fall in love with her is to change not only her appearance, but also who she really is.
• 19:33 | Gingerbread For Her Dad (Kazakhstan-Poland-Russian Federation, 2024, Writer-Dir. Alina Mustafina, Documentary-Feature-Drama, 84min, English-Kazakh-Polish-Russian w/ English subtitles) 85-year-old Lyabiba doesn’t remember her father, who died in World War II. Her only memory is of shouting joyfully about receiving ‘consolation’ gingerbread cookies after her father’s death notice. Lyabiba’s daughter and granddaughter (the film’s director) decide to find the mass grave in Poland where Lyabiba’s father was buried.
• 20:57 | Disconnected Echoes (India, 2025, Writer-Editor-Camera-Sound-Dir. Polash PK, Documentary, 18min, Bengali-English with English subtitles, NR G) In July 2024, filmmaker Polash was in Ladakh when communication with his family in Bangladesh was cut off due to civil unrest. This documentary captures his emotional journey and isolation, alongside stories of separation from local families he stayed with in Ladakh. Produced by Auroville Film Festival.
• 21:15 | Blooming Hour/மலரும் நேரம் (India, 2025, Writer-Editor-Camera-Sound-Dir. Logeswaran M, Documentary, 14min, Tamil w/ English subtitles, NR G) Trust brewing between the morning birds and the man who recently began feeding them. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.
• 21:29 | Who Do You Think You Are? (Canada, 2025, Producer-Editor-Dir. Alan Baiss w/ Joseh Garcia, Documentary, 65min, English, NR G) Inspired by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, asking what global crises are asking of us.

Wednesday 21 January, 2026

• 19:00 | Earth-chitecture: Building With Mud (India, 2024, Producer-Writer-Editor-Camera-Sound-Dir. Sampriti Roy, Documentary, 11min, English, NR G) Demonstrations on how to make CSEB and ferro cement for buildings featuring Ayyappan, Radhika and Satprem.
• 19:10 | Green SuperHeroes 2030 (United States, 2024, Writer-Dir. Los Angeles Barea, Documentary, 79min, English, NR G) A group of 10 young environmentalists changing the world for the better. Their powers make the planet greener.
• 20:29 | Ground Zero: Self-portrait Of An Ocean Abuser (Spain, 2024, Writer-Dir. David Gaspar, Documentary, 28min, Spanish w/ English subtitles, NR R) The film invites us to become aware of the problem of pollution in the oceans and the conflict it generates within us. Through an ironic and biting perspective, it tries to make us reflect on our responsibility in this regard with the aim of helping us improve our commitment to the oceans with small gestures.
• 20:57 | Breaking Language/Romer el Español (Argentina, 2025, Dir. Sofia Castro, Documentary-Experimental, 17min, Argentinian Sign Language w/ English subtitles, NR G) Merging Argentinian Sign Language, dance, and documentary, the film presents the perspectives of four Deaf artists as they examine ideas of identity and resistance within a cultural and linguistic minority, the need for poetic and artistic creation in one’s own language, and the importance of feminism within the Deaf community.
• 21:15 | And, Towards Happy Alleys (Islamic Republic of Iran-India, 2023, Writer-Dir. Sreemoyee Singh, Documentary-Feature, 75min, Persian with English subtitles, NR R) A passionate declaration of love for the cinema and poetry of Iran, which also offers a frank view of the precarious situation for critics of the regime and shows the uncompromising daily struggle of Iranian women against their oppression.

Thursday 22 January, 2026

• 19:00 | H2O My Love/H2O Mon Amour (France, 2023, Writer-Dir. Laëtitia Martinoni, Short, 18min, French w/ English subtitles, NR R) Is it reasonable to fall in love during the end of the world? Alice and Simon meet as the water war rages.
• 19:18 | Sunday (Uzbekistan, 2023, Writer-Dir. Shokir Kholikov, Feature, 96min, Uzbek w/ English subtitles, NR R) An elderly couple is living a peaceful life in a quiet Uzbek village. The elderly parents cherish their old home and are resistant to any change, leading to a conflict between the generations, where the struggle between tradition and progress reaches a breaking point.
• 20:54 | 30 Years Of Keeping The Music Flowing – Auroville Choir (India, 2024, Producer-Writer-Dir. Serena Aurora, Documentary, 38min, English, NR G) Like the melting pot that Auroville is, the choir is an amalgamation of singers from across countries, age groups, and disciplines, performing music spanning different decades and centuries.
• 21:32 | Where Trees Weep/Donde Se Quejan Los Pinos (Spain, 2024, Producer-Dir. Ed Antoja, Short, 10min, Spanish w/ English subtitles, NR R) A rural community wakes up to a crime scene in the middle of the forest. Little by little, a series of previous situations show us the conflicts that happened in the same place.
• 21:42 | India Textile Part 1 (Russia-India, 2024, Writer-Editor-Camera-Dir. Anna-Maria Bakhtiarova, Documentary, 19min, Russian w/ English subtitles, NR G) A masters student sets out to discover the ancient art of Indian textiles.
• 22:02 | India Textile Part 2 (Russia-India, 2025, Writer-Editor-Camera-Dir. Anna-Maria Bakhtiarova, Documentary, 21min, Russian w/ English subtitles, NR G) A masters student sets out to discover the ancient art of Indian textiles.
• 22:22 | Indygama (India, 2024, Writer-Editor-Camera-Dir. Anna-Maria Bakhtiarova, Documentary, 6min, English, NR G) An anagama kiln in south India draws in ceramists with its magical and organic firings.

Friday 23 January, 2026

• 19:00 | It Comes in Waves (India, 2025, Producer-Writer-Editor-Sound-Dir. Nefertiti Chakrabarti, Documentary, 4min, English, NR G) Shot on 16mm film, hand-developed in a basement and spliced in the mountains. A kaleidoscope of a small town in India, once colonized, now free.
• 19:03 | Art Form/Kalai Vadivam (India, 2024, Writer-Editor-Dir. S. Yuvasri, Documentary, 5min, Tamil w/ English subtitles, NR G) A form of folk theatre from Tamil Nadu known as kattaikkuttu or therukoothu, featuring traditional theatre, song, dance, and ritual.
• 19:09 | Last Resort/Chareh (Islamic Republic of Iran, 2024, Producer-Writer-Dir. Samiramis Kia, Short, 15min, Persian w/ English subtitles, NR R) An Iranian mother must find the will to change her destiny to be able to obtain custody of her daughter.
• 19:24 | Junks And Dolls/Ashghal-ha Va Arousak-ha (Islamic Republic of Iran, 2023, Dir. Manijeh Hekmat, Feature, 75min, Farsi w/ English subtitles, NR R) A couple is destined to build up their life in the heart of a waste depot in the Iranian north forests. They begin to make different things with the junk they find and start to make friends with the other people… but what remains of the people who are determined to fight their nature?
• 20:39 | Sound Of Air (India, 2025, Producer-Writer-Editor-Camera-Sound-Dir. Rishi Vengadesan, Documentary, 14min, English-Hindi w/ English subtitles, NR G) Explores changes to Indian classical music after the introduction of the harmonium and the relationship between the instrument maker and musicians.
• 20:53 | Don Benjamin (Spain, 2024, Writer-Dir. Iván Zahinos, Short, 29min, Spanish w/ English subtitles, NR R) For Don Benjamín, the jungle has always been God, life, food, health, beauty and tradition. Now, the world in which he built a home for his family turns to smoke and ashes. This film is a journey both raw and poetic through a magical region in danger: the Bolivian Amazon.
• 21:22 | The Farming Land (India, 2025, Producer-Writer-Dir. Mukul Kumar, Experimental-Dance, 15min, Silent, NR G) A surreal meditation on the weight of being. Won ‘Outstanding Indian Debut’ at Manifest Dance Film Festival 2025.

Saturday 24 January, 2026

• 19:00 | No Other Land/Lā Arḍ Ukhrá (Falesteen-Norway, 2024, Writer-Dir. Basel Adra w/ Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Documentary, 95min, Arabic-Hebrew-English w/ English subtitles, NR R) The film was recorded between 2019 and 2023 and shows the destruction of a Falasteenian community in the occupied area, which had been resisting forced displacement after a ‘firing zone’ was declared on their land. This movie won more than 40 international awards.
• 20:35 | My Comrade/Amar Comrade (India, 2024, Producer-Dir. Tathagata Ghosh, Short, 25min, Bengali-Santali w/ English subtitles, NR R) When a wounded rebel accidentally takes refuge in the home of a tribal villager, both men’s lives spiral into a tense interplay of politics and forbidden love.
• 20:59 | A Fly On The Wall (Switzerland-India, 2024, Producer-Dir. Shonali Bose w/ Nilesh Maniyar, Documentary-Feature, 83min, English, NR R) Loved ones pour in from different parts of the world to raise one last toast with Chika Kapadia, who has an appointment at Dignitas for physician assisted suicide in the coming week, having chosen not to be tied to tubes and wires in his last moments. A filmmaker friend tasked with shooting Chika’s countdown to death records her own feelings, weaving a tale of dignity in death through the lens of friendship.
• 22:22 | In The Wake Of The Wind (India, 2025, Producer-Writer-Editor-Camera-Dir. Pia Sukhija, Documentary, 7min, English w/ English subtitles, NR G) An exploration of a single day in the lives of a nomadic herder community on the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.

Sunday 25 January, 2026

• 19:00 | In The Name Of (India, 2024, Producer-Writer-Editor-Dir. Rizwan Hussain, Short-Drama-Silent, 5min, English, NR G) In a village town, two elderly men find themselves at a bus stop, their routine interrupted by a sudden event nearby. As they spring into action, their unexpected response to the situation resonates deeply and leaves a profound impact that transcends the ordinary.
• 19:05 | Early Years In Auroville 1969-1976 (India, 2025, Producer-Writer-Camera-Dir. Lisbeth Nusselein, Documentary, 9min, English, NR G) Lisbeth’s journey in 1970 to Auroville from the Netherlands, told through archival photographs covering travel, arrival, life, work, the Mother, and community.
• 19:14 | Letter to Mother (India, 2025, Writer-Editor-Dir. Partha P Datta, Documentary-Short, 5min, Bengali w/ English subtitles, NR G) On an evening field filled with children, Partha stands apart due to an injured leg. The film is a letter to his mother, expressing his quiet loneliness. Produced by Auroville Film Institute.
• 19:19 | If/যদি (Jodi) (India, 2023, Producer-Dir. Tathagata Ghosh, Short, 26min, Bengali w/ English subtitles, NR R) An arranged marriage tears a lesbian couple apart, but with a mother’s love, perhaps another future is possible.
• 19:45 | Village Rockstars 2 (India, 2024, Producer-Writer-Dir. Rima Das, Feature, 108min, Assamese w/ English subtitles, NR G) In a charming village in Assam, India, a teenage girl passionately chases her dream of becoming a musician. Faced with harsh realities, she embarks on a journey to rediscover the profound connection between music and life, seeking a new harmony in the symphony of her dreams.
• 21:33 | Morning Star Auroville: Supporting Families Through Pregnancy, Birth, And Beyond (India, 2024, Editor-Dir. Serena Aurora, Documentary, 15min, English, NR G) A health and wellness initiative in Auroville supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and early parenting, urges a cultural shift to recognize birth as a life-changing experience for the family.
• 21:48 | Orain (Spain, 2024, Dir. Ainara Oto Barberena, Documentary, 15min, Spanish w/ English subtitles, NR G) Sara has to make a documentary about Orain, a special education school. She needs to get the perfect images, but her attempts are frustrated by a series of crazy situations that bring her to the brink of a nervous breakdown. With the help of the kids, Sara learns the importance of living in the present.
• 22:03 | Once Upon A Forest (India, 2024, Dir. Paul Blanchflower w/ Aurovenkatesh, Documentary, 13min, English with English subtitles, NR G) The film explores the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest, the rarest forest type in India. Today less than 0.1 percent remains. It is a resilient environment, essential for the next generation on the Coromandel coast.
• 22:17 | Project Wightiana (India, 2025, Dir. Cheenu Wild, Documentary, 10min, English w/ English subtitles, NR G) The film follows the journey of a forgotten wild Indian coffee species – Coffea Wightiana – in the Silence Forest of Auroville. A native, climate-resilient species that may hold answers to the future of coffee.

AUROVILIANS

RESIDENTS OF THE BIOREGION

PONDICHERRIANS

30 YEARS OF KEEPING THE MUSIC FLOWING – AUROVILLE CHOIR

Year, Duration: 2024, 38min 25sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English
Screening: Thursday, 22 January 2026 at CRIPA at 20:54

Synopsis:
This documentary takes us through a nostalgic journey of the Auroville Choir – thirty years of keeping the music flowing. Started by Pushkar in 1991, the choir was taken over in 1993 by Nuria, a student of music from Catalonia, Spain. She has been the conductor for the past thirty-one years. Like the melting pot that Auroville is, the choir is an amalgamation of singers from across countries, age groups, and disciplines, performing music spanning different decades and centuries.

Crew & Cast: Producer/Director/Script: Serena Aurora, Editors: Serena Aurora, Aurovenkatesh, Melusine, Camera: Serena Aurora, Aurovenkatesh, Marko, Sound: Shanks, Cast: Nuria, Anandamayi, Angelika, Tom, Otto, Praniti, Shanks

Trailer: https://youtu.be/7XnNMpv63U4
Website: www.auroraseyefilms.com
Anitya Community: Joy of Impermanence, Auroville

A CLAY CONNECT

Year, Duration: 2024, 5min 15sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English/Tamil with English subtitles
Screening: Tuesday, 20 January 2026 at CRIPA at 19:00

Synopsis:
A CLAY CONNECT follows a meeting of hands and histories: Adil Writer, a contemporary ceramist, and T. Palanisamy, traditional master craftsman of monumental terracotta. Speaking in pantomime, only through the language of clay, they shape figures born of ritual and reimagined through fire. Lineage and experiment entwine; where ancient knowledge breathes anew, and devotion, labour and shared making form a living, lyrical conversation.

Crew & Cast: Producer/Script: Adil Writer, Director: Serena Aurora, Editor: Serena Aurora, Aurovenkatesh, Camera: Aurovenkatesh, Audio Post Production: Kadarsh, Music: Nadaka & the Basavaraj Brothers, Cast: Adil Writer, T. Palanisamy, Subtitles: Priya Sundaravalli

Trailer: https://youtu.be/NKjfqgLlqw0
Website: www.mandalapottery.com; www.adilwriter.com
Mandala Pottery, Dana Community, Auroville

A LAND BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS

Year, Duration: 2025, 7min 50sec
Genre: Experimental
Country, Language: India, English
Screening: Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 20:48

Synopsis: A reflection on what happiness is, while traveling in Bhutan.

Crew: Producer/Director/Editor/Camera: Smiti, Script: Re-written by Smiti from an article by Claude, Music: Amiya Bhatia, Voice over: Ribhu Photography: Claude
Socials: Instagram: @smiti_7
Swayam Community, Auroville

ADVENTURES OF NONO

Year, Duration: 2025, 20min 21sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Hindi with English subtitles
Screening: Monday, 19 January 2026 at CRIPA at 22:01

Synopsis:
An intimate observational documentary, set in the highlands of Ladakh, following a two-year-old boy named Nono. Filmed over several days in vérité style with a phone, the film captures his unfiltered world, his curiosity, and his resilience. Through this unstructured play, the film explores deeper questions about how children learn, what happens when we let go of control, and when we stopped being like Nono.

Crew & Cast:
Producer: Auroville Film Institute, Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Santosh Manik. Cast: Nono, Wangmo, Dechen

Website: https://filminstitute.auroville.org
Felicity Community, Old Auroville Road, Bommaiyarpalayam

AMUDHA

Year, Duration: 2025, 11min 15sec
Genre: Short
Country, Language: India, Tamil with English subtitles
Screening: Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at Kalabhumi Amphitheatre at 21:48

Synopsis:
Amudha is a young girl, who sells balloons near the beach. She and her sister are orphans. After meeting a writer who hears her story, the writer refuses to marry as requested by her mother and instead chooses to adopt the poor girls and send them to school.

Crew & Cast:
Director: Rosann Robinson, Script: S. Yuvasri, Editor: Harini P, Camera: Sruthi K.U, Sound: Gugan E.V, Josh Krajit, Cast: S. Yuvasri, Merline Joshi, Yatra Srinivassan, Yuvatri Priya, R. Raveena

Trailer: https://youtu.be/9xcaWMLAB-Q
Website: https://www.yatraartsmedia.org/
Yatra, Near New Creation Sports Ground, Kuilapalayam

ART FORM (KALAI VADIVAM)

Year, Duration: 2024, 5min 13sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Tamil with English subtitles
Screening: Friday, 23 January 2026 at CRIPA at 19:03

Synopsis:
A form of folk theatre from Tamil Nadu known as kattaikkuttu or therukoothu, featuring traditional theatre, song, dance, and ritual. Popular in rural areas like Dharmapuri and Arcot, the term is a common name for Tamil open-air theatre today.

Crew:

• Producer: Yatra Arts Media Team
• Director/Script/Editor: Yuvasri
• Camera: Harini, Yuvasri
• Sound: Yatra Arts Media Team, YouTube Audio Library
• Cast: Senthil, Govindharaj, K. Gangadurai

Website: https://www.yatraartsmedia.org/
Trailer: https://youtu.be/mRckjeOx8ug
Yatra, Near New Creation Sports Ground, Kuilapalayam

AUROVILLE: THE CITY OF THE FUTURE (АУРОВИЛЬ: ГОРОД БУДУЩЕГО)

Year, Duration: 2023, 12min 51sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: Russia/India, Russian with English subtitles
Screening: Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 21:07

Synopsis:
After an ecosystem had been destroyed by colonial forces in South India, a new colonial force vowed to restore the balance. Nominated in the student category at the Yalta Film Festival “Мы вместе” 2024.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Aleksei Vasilyev
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera: Anna-Maria Bakhtiarova
• Sound: Vera Lipen-Joshi, Aleksandr Kononov
• Cast: Philipp, Bernard, Deepika, Luke, Kiran Baldwin, Birgitta Volz

Saraswati House, Dana Community, Auroville

BIRDS OF PUDUCHERRY 1.0

Year, Duration: 2025, 7min 9sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Tamil with English subtitles
Screening: Monday, 19 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 19:00

Synopsis: Showcasing the beauty of birds around Puducherry to convey a message against littering in nature.

Crew:

• Producer/Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Gobinath Mounissamy

Links: https://jardindusecret.com/; Instagram: @jardindusecret
Trailer: https://youtu.be/3FETQ13onYo
Purple Apartment, Room 402, Kuilapalyam

BRIDE OF ARAVAN

Year, Duration: 2023, 49min
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Tamil with English subtitles
Screening: Tuesday, 20 January 2026 at Kalabhumi Amphitheatre at 19:49

Synopsis:
Captures the register of life as a transgender woman in south India through the protagonist Bawadharini. The film follows her everyday life – home, NGO work, begging – and the ritual catharsis of the annual Aravan festival where trans women are elevated to goddess ‘bride’ status. A ‘therukoothu’ traditional performance parallels the events, deepening the themes of family rejection and dignity.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer/Director/Script/Sound: Lesley Branagan
• Co-producer/Director: Yatra Srinivassan
• Assembly Edit: Puloma Pal
• DOP: Jeremy Carroll
• Cast: Bawadharini S

Creativity B Block, Auroville

CONVERSATIONS (BAATEIN)

Year, Duration: 2024, 4min 32sec
Genre: Fiction
Country, Language: India, Hindi with English subtitles
Screening: Monday, 19 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 20:23

Synopsis: A simple story about the feeling of ‘first love’ between two young children, who connect because they speak the same language – a reflection on the power of love and language.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Maitreya Films
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera: Ravikiran Rangaswamy
• Sound: Omkar Chanariya, Keshav Purohitd, Saptak Thakur
• Cast: Tamizh Iniyan, Akshiti Roychowdhury, Reeshabh Rawat

Link: behance.net/ravikiranclicks
Chez Nous, Maitreya, Near Sun Farm, Auroville

DISCONNECTED ECHOES

Year, Duration: 2025, 17min 48sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Bengali/English with English subtitles
Screening: Tuesday, 20 January 2026 at CRIPA at 20:57

Synopsis:
In July 2024, filmmaker Polash was in Ladakh when communication with his family in Bangladesh was cut off due to civil unrest. This documentary captures his emotional journey and isolation, alongside stories of separation from local families he stayed with in Ladakh.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Auroville Film Institute
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Polash P K
• Cast: Polash P K, Habiba Bano, Mohd Nazir, Amma Khatun, Jahangir, Abida, Aisha, Swapna, Ajanta, Jean

Felicity Community, Old Auroville Road, Bommaiyarpalayam

EARLY YEARS IN AUROVILLE 1969-1976

Year, Duration: 2025, 9min 15sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English
Screening: Sunday, 25 January 2026 at CRIPA at 19:05

Synopsis: Lisbeth’s journey in 1970 to Auroville from the Netherlands, told through archival photographs covering travel, arrival, life, work, the Mother, and community.

Crew:

• Producer/Director/Script/Camera: Lisbeth Nusselein
• Editor: Thiruamudhan
• Sound: Auroville Radio

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTsq5Xa9M5c
Madhuca Community, Auroville

ECM 2024

Year, Duration: 2024, 4min 12sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Silent
Screening: Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 19:05

Synopsis: The Endangered Craft Mela is a week-long educational program, highlighting the dignity of craftsmanship. This film distils the flavor of its atmosphere.

Crew:

• Producer/Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Nefertiti Chakrabarti

Link: https://youtu.be/BwpZ9uDFboo
Center Field Community, Auroville

FOOD PILLS

Year, Duration: 2024, 9min 26sec
Genre: Fiction
Country, Language: India, English with English subtitles
Screening: Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 19:20

Synopsis: In the past, they killed the soil and polluted the water. Today, the same people control our food and lives. Many risk leaving the city and crossing the wall. Selected for the Street Movies Festival in Belgrade.

Crew & Cast:

• Director/Script/Editor/Camera: Jeremy Carroll
• Sound: Ishit Kuberkar
• Cast: Aamna Munjal, Gaurb Bose, Lili Dreikhausen

Nadukuppam, Kottakuppam

GARBAGE (MYCOP)

Year, Duration: 2024, 12min 34sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English
Screening: Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 20:36

Synopsis: The harsh realities of consumer society and its environmental impact in Auroville and Pondicherry, shown through the eyes of those whose job it is not to be oblivious.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Aleksei Vasilyev
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera: Anna-Maria Bakhtiarova
• Sound: Alexandr Kononov
• Cast: Sumit, Yogesh Kalaimani, Kali Borg

Saraswati House, Dana Community, Auroville

HOW WOULD ONE KNOW IF ONE FORGETS SOMETHING?

Year, Duration: 2025, 9min 19sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Ladakhi with English subtitles
Screening: Friday, 23 January 2026 at Kalabhumi at 21:18 and Friday, 23 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 20:55

Synopsis: Traces memory, change, and the passage of time in the fragile landscape of Ladakh as it drifts between its history and its accelerating transformation.

Crew:

• Producer: Auroville Film Institute
• Directors/Script/Editor/Camera: Kartik Sreenivasan, Sai Krishna L V, Stanzin Angdu
• Vocals: Tsering Sonam

Felicity Community, Old Auroville Road, Bommaiyarpalayam

IN THE LIGHT OF TIME

Year, Duration: 2025, 12min 16sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English with English subtitles
Screening: Saturday, 24 January 2026 at Kalabhumi at 21:17 and Saturday, 24 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 20:47

Synopsis: Centered on prehistoric rock art sites along the Indus and Zanskar rivers, the film is a ‘love story’ between past, present, and future.

Crew:

• Producer: Auroville Film Institute
• Directors/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Jahnavi Pradeep, Amogh Chauhan
• Cast: Viraf Mehta

Felicity Community, Old Auroville Road, Bommaiyarpalayam

IN THE WAKE OF THE WIND

Year, Duration: 2025, 6min 53sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English with English subtitles
Screening: Saturday, 24 January 2026 at CRIPA at 22:22

Synopsis: An exploration of a single day in the lives of a nomadic herder community on the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh.

Crew:

• Producer/Director/Script/Editor/Camera: Pia Sukhija

Felicity Community, Old Auroville Road, Bommaiyarpalayam

INDIA TEXTILE PART 1 (ИНДИЯ. ТЕКСТИЛЬ. ЧАСТЬ 1.)

Year, Duration: 2024, 19min 7sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: Russia/India, Russian with English subtitles
Screening: Thursday, 22 January 2026 at CRIPA at 21:42

Synopsis: A masters student sets out to discover the ancient art of Indian textiles.

Crew:

• Producer: Saraswati Sereda
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera: Anna-Maria Bakhtiarova
• Sound: Vera Lipen-Joshi

Saraswati House, Dana Community, Auroville

INDIA TEXTILE PART 2 (ИНДИЯ. ТЕКСТИЛЬ. ЧАСТЬ 2)

Year, Duration: 2025, 20min 32sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: Russia/India, Russian with English subtitles
Screening: Thursday, 22 January 2026 at CRIPA at 22:02

Synopsis: A masters student sets out to discover the ancient art of Indian textiles.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Saraswati Sereda
• Director/Editor/Camera: Anna-Maria Bakhtiarova
• Script: Saraswati Sereda
• Cast: Saraswati Sereda, Ulaganathan, Priti, Bhavya Trivedi

Saraswati House, Dana Community, Auroville

INDYGAMA

Year, Duration: 2024, 5min 57sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English
Screening: Thursday, 22 January 2026 at CRIPA at 22:22

Synopsis: An anagama kiln in south India draws in ceramists with its magical and organic firings.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Indrani Singh-Cassine
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera: Anna-Maria Bakhtiarova
• Sound: Aleksandr Kononov
• Cast: Indrani Singh-Cassime, Saraswati Sereda

Link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YJGmaTsFv60

IT COMES IN WAVES

Year, Duration: 2025, 3min 45sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English
Screening: Friday, 23 January 2026 at CRIPA at 19:00

Synopsis: Shot on 16mm film, hand-developed in a basement and spliced in the mountains. A kaleidoscope of a small town in India, once colonized, now free. Screened at the Seoul International Women’s Film Festival 2025.

Crew:

• Producer/Director/Script/Editor/Sound: Nefertiti Chakrabarti
• Camera: Ayuj Consul, Tanvi Chitre, Richard Touhy, Nefertiti

Center Field Community, Auroville

KOOLI KODUTHU SOONIYAM

Year, Duration: 2023, 8min 55sec
Genre: Short
Country, Language: India, Tamil with English subtitles
Screening: Friday, 23 January 2026 at Kalabhumi at 21:27 and Friday, 23 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 21:04

Synopsis: A family torn apart by the protagonist’s alcohol addiction. His wife and daughter work tirelessly in a cloth shop to bear the brunt of his actions.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Adhilakshmi
• Director/Script/Editor: Yatra Srinivassan
• Camera: Rajaram
• Sound: Gajadhanu
• Cast: Yatra Srinivassan, S. Kamala, S. Yuvasri, K. Mohanraj

Link: https://youtu.be/M9w7KB5neME
Yatra, Kuilapalayam

LAST DROP

Year, Duration: 2024, 7min 44sec
Genre: Fiction
Country, Language: India, Silent
Screening: Monday, 19 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 21:34

Synopsis: In a drought-stricken land, a man embarks on a journey in the hope of finding the last remaining water source.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Rajen Parekh
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Jeremy Carroll
• Cast: Yatra Srinivassan

Nadukuppam, Kottakuppam

LETTER TO MOTHER

Year, Duration: 2025, 5min 23sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Bengali with English subtitles
Screening: Sunday, 25 January 2026 at CRIPA at 19:14

Synopsis: On an evening field filled with children, Partha stands apart due to an injured leg. The film is a letter to his mother, expressing his quiet loneliness.

Crew:

• Producer: Auroville Film Institute
• Director/Script/Editor: Partha P Datta
• Camera: Santosh Manik
• Sound: Vismay Chintan

Link: https://youtu.be/bqPvPpopqkE
Felicity community, Old Auroville Road, Bommaiyarpalayam

MOMENTS OF JOY

Year, Duration: 2025, 11min 02sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English with English subtitles
Screening: Monday, 19 January 2026 at Kalabhumi Amphitheatre at 19:39

Synopsis: A poetic journey into the mind of Ladakhi poet Padma Angmo. Her verses blend with the rhythms of nature and daily life, asking us to slow down and rediscover joy in simplicity.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Auroville Film Institute
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Santosh Manik
• Cast: Padma Angmo

Felicity Community, Old Auroville Road, Bommaiyarpalayam

MOON JUICE (CHANDER ROSH)

Year, Duration: 2025, 3min 21sec
Genre: Experimental
Country, Language: India, Bangla with English subtitles
Screening: Monday, 19 January 2026 at Kalabhumi Amphitheatre at 19:30

Synopsis: Shot on a single reel of super 8 film with no editing. Premiered at Straight 8 2025 at the British Film Institute.

Crew:

• Producers: Arnav Kakar, Krish Makhija, Nefertiti Chakrabarti
• Director/Script: Nefertiti Chakrabarti
• Camera: Krish Makhija

MORIBUND: AN ART PROJECT

Year, Duration: 2025, 5min 55sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English
Screening: Monday, 19 January 2026 at Kalabhumi Amphitheatre at 19:33

Synopsis: Dedicated to Auroville, currently under pressure. Presents the destruction of Auroville as symbolic of environmental vandalism. Birgitta’s art reflects the crisis.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Birgitta Volz and Aurofilm
• Director/Script: Birgitta Volz
• Editors: Rathees, Birgitta Volz
• Camera: Rathees & Alix, Pavitra
• Sound: Shalini Shekar (vocals)
• Cast: Birgitta Volz, Visitors

Surrender Community gate 1, Auroville

MORNING STAR AUROVILLE: SUPPORTING FAMILIES THROUGH PREGNANCY, BIRTH, AND BEYOND

Year, Duration: 2024, 14min 38sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English
Screening: Sunday, 25 January 2026 at CRIPA at 21:33

Synopsis: A health and wellness initiative in Auroville supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and early parenting, urges a cultural shift to recognize birth as a life-changing experience for the family.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer/Script: Paula Murphy
• Director/Editor: Serena Aurora
• Camera: Aurovenkatesh
• Sound: Kardash
• Cast: Gowri Dorairajan, Paula, Monique, Krishna

Link: https://youtu.be/i_-PddRnSuU

NATURE IS ALMIGHTY (இயற்கை பெரியவன்)

Year, Duration: 2024, 10min 34sec
Genre: Fiction
Country, Language: India, Tamil with English subtitles
Screening: Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 19:09

Synopsis: A young man murders his mother in a rage. Haunted by guilt, he realizes that human morality is an illusion, compared to the silence of nature. A single-shot film made on a mobile phone (PG-17).

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Rahul Dravid
• Director: Nandha Kumar
• Camera/Editor/Sound: Manoj
• Cast: Vishwa, Thirumalai Rajan

Ambedkar street, Morattandi Vanur Taluk

NEW BEST FRIENDS

Year, Duration: 2025, 2min 55sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English
Screening: Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 20:56

Synopsis: An unconventional perspective on recovery following a leg operation, designating crutches as a person’s ‘best friends’.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer/Director/Script/Editor: Birgitta Volz
• Camera: Birgitta Volz, Shanthi
• Cast: Birgitta, Shanthi, Crystal, Diego

Surrender Community gate 1, Auroville

ONCE UPON A FOREST

Year, Duration: 2024, 13min 28sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English with English subtitles
Screening: Sunday, 25 January 2026 at CRIPA at 22:03

Synopsis: The film explores the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest, the rarest forest type in India. Today less than 0.1 percent remains. It is a resilient environment, essential for the next generation on the Coromandel coast.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Auroville Botanical Gardens
• Director: Paul Blanchflower, Aurovenkatesh
• Editor/Camera: Aurovenkatesh
• Sound: Matt Littlewood, Shanks Kini
• Cast: Kathiravan Kanniyappan

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8e4u3joO0k

ONE SIDE OF THE ROAD

Year, Duration: 2024, 88min 2sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Tamil/English with English subtitles
Screening: Thursday, 22 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 20:17

Synopsis: A road dividing habitats in Tamil Nadu. Four Dalits reveal their struggle with debt, poor conditions in sugarcane fields, and social discrimination over three years, marked by the pandemic.

Crew:

• Producer: IRD Audiovisual
• Director/Script: Jalil Nordman
• Editor/Camera: Jeremy Carroll
• Sound: Shanks Kini, Stefano Cesca

Link: https://odriis.hypotheses.org/projects/audiovisual/one-side-of-the-road/

PROJECT WIGHTIANA

Year, Duration: 2025, 10min 02sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English with English subtitles
Screening: Sunday, 25 January 2026 at CRIPA at 22:17

Synopsis: Follows the journey of a forgotten wild Indian coffee species – Coffea Wightiana – in the Silence Forest of Auroville. A native, climate-resilient species that may hold answers to the future of coffee.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Marc’s Coffee
• Director: Cheenu Wild
• Script: Marc Tormo Mir, Cheenu Wild
• Cast: Eden Uriel Tormo Mir, Agnes Mary, Deepan V

Link: https://www.instagram.com/eyeseawild/

PURNA MAHA KUMBH MELA

Year, Duration: 2025, 21min 58sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Hindi with English subtitles
Screening: Sunday, 18 January 2026 at Kalabhumi Amphitheatre at 21:15

Synopsis: Experience the Purna Maha Kumbh Mela. A journey within.

Crew: Producer/Editor/Camera/Sound/Director: Lalit Verma

SOUND OF A LAND

Year, Duration: 2025, 13min 50sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Hebrew/Hindi/English with English subtitles
Screening: Monday, 19 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 20:09

Synopsis: A personal documentary about the unyielding feeling of being a hunted Jew. Filmed in Leh during Muharram, weaving voiceover with conversations with Israeli travellers.

Crew:

• Producer: Auroville Film Institute
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Yoni Vell
• Cast: David Alfandari, Avigail Karby

SOUND OF AIR

Year, Duration: 2025, 13min 30sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English/Hindi with English subtitles
Screening: Friday, 23 January 2026 at CRIPA at 19:24

Synopsis: Explores changes to Indian classical music after the introduction of the harmonium and the relationship between the instrument maker and musicians.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer/Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Rishi Vengadesan
• Cast: Imam of Leh’s Shia mosque

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwuy1QIU8Qw

STANDING ALONE

Year, Duration: 2025, 74min 08sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Tamil/English with English subtitles
Screening: Monday, 19 January 2026 at CRIPA at 20:46

Synopsis: Looks at the individual life-journeys of 6 single mothers from villages near Auroville, capturing snapshots of their perseverance and strength.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Last School Production, Smiti
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera: Smiti
• Sound: Agni
• Cast: Shivagami, Nalini, Selvi, Malika, Lakshmi, Radha

Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIlIk1VEqYnmk4c5a8xqA4QNB-Yr6w2QK

THE COSMIC ATOMIC (BRAHMANDAM PINDANDAM)

Year, Duration: 2025, 19min 51sec
Genre: Experimental
Country, Language: India, English
Screening: Tuesday, 20 January 2026 at Kalabhumi Amphitheatre at 19:30

Synopsis: Traces the journey of civilization from the harnessing of fire through technology. An absurdist take on the purposelessness of the universe.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Dakshin Studios
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera: Kanchan Avchare
• Sound: Marko Bosko
• Cast: Arun Kesavan, Sidharth Radha Krishna

THE FARMING LAND

Year, Duration: 2025, 15min 10sec
Genre: Experimental Dance Film
Country, Language: India, Silent
Screening: Friday, 23 January 2026 at CRIPA at 21:22

Synopsis: A surreal meditation on the weight of being. Won ‘Outstanding Indian Debut’ at Manifest Dance Film Festival 2025.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer/Director/Script: Mukul Kumar
• Editor: Logeswaran M
• Camera: Jeremy Carroll
• Sound: Yash Pagare
• Cast: Kavi Dhruvan, T. Deva Darshan

THE MATRIMANDIR & I, EPISODE 1: FOUR PEOPLE FROM FOUR CORNERS OF THE WORLD. ONE CONNECTION.

Year, Duration: 2025, 7min 50sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English
Screening: Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 20:59

Synopsis: Four Aurovilians speak about their personal experiences with the Matrimandir.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer/Director/Script: Serena Aurora
• Editor: Shinu Satheesan
• Camera: Aurovenkatesh
• Sound: Kardash
• Cast: Aurelio, B, Lili, Mona

THE OWL-EYED GUARDIAN AND THE BANYAN DREAM

Year, Duration: 2024, 59min 13sec
Genre: Fiction
Country, Language: India, Tamil/English with English subtitles
Screening: Sunday, 18 January 2026 at CRIPA at 21:00 and Friday, 23 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 19:33

Synopsis: Spiritual film, shedding light on the story of Andhayee, guardian of Auroville’s origins.

Crew:

• Producer: Inlight Productions
• Director/Script/Editor: Alessandra Silver

THE POETICS OF CHANGE

Year, Duration: 2025, 9min 44sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Silent
Screening: Sunday, 18 January 2026 at Kalabhumi Amphitheatre at 21:47

Synopsis: Experimental narrative, exploring Ladakh as a time capsule through juxtaposed shots.

Crew:

• Producer: Auroville Film Institute
• Director/Script/Editor: Logeswaran M

TRASHY FILM (KUPPAI PADAM)

Year, Duration: 2025, 86min 4sec
Genre: Feature/Live Action/Animation
Country, Language: India, Tamil/English with English subtitles
Screening: Thursday, 22 January 2026 at Kalabhumi Amphitheatre at 20:26

Synopsis: A writer loses his laptop just before an important meeting and must race to find it with no memory of the last 12 hours.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Accessible Horizon Films
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Stanzin
• Cast: Stanzin, Sriram, Kotravai

WATER IN THE MOUNTAINS (PAHADON MEI PAANI)

Year, Duration: 2025, 12min 14sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Hindi with English subtitles
Screening: Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 21:20

Synopsis: Installing a solar pump in Spiti Valley at 13,000 feet, where natural springs are buried under frozen river beds in winter.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer/Script: Divya Kapoor
• Director/Editor/Camera/Sound: Karthik K
• Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Norbhu

WHERE IS HUMANITY? (எங்கே மனிதநேயம்?)

Year, Duration: 2024, 5min 27sec
Genre: Fiction
Country, Language: India, Tamil with English subtitles
Screening: Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 19:00

Synopsis: A vlogger visits Auroville and finds a woman who teaches him that Auroville isn’t just a place, but a living question.

Crew & Cast:

• Producer: Dhanalakshmi
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera: Magheshwar Kumaran
• Sound: JaiVno
• Cast: Merline, Vishwaa Simon

WHERE’S MASI?

Year, Duration: 2025, 9min 38sec
Genre: Fiction, Horror
Country, Language: India, English with English subtitles
Screening: Sunday, 25 January 2026 at Kalabhumi Amphitheatre at 19:41

Synopsis: A homemade horror film about a young woman racing to save her friend from a sinister entity (PG-13).

Crew & Cast:

• Producer/Director/Script/Editor: Uttara Jadeja
• Camera: Rishi Vengadesan
• Sound: Niranjan Kartik
• Cast: Ahilya Bamroo

YOU LIFT ON A STROKE, THERE’S A DOG SHELTER

Year, Duration: 2025, 17min 21sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English/Tamil with English subtitles
Screening: Friday, 23 January 2026 at Kalabhumi at 21:36 and Friday, 23 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 21:13

Synopsis: A video-photo-poem documentary about the Auroville Dog Shelter and the relationship between a human and the Supreme through yoga and sadhana.

Crew:

• Producer/Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Donny Lee Duke

Films made about Auroville / the bioregion / Pondicherry

ANYTHING OR EVERYTHING COULD BE THEATRE

Year, Duration: 2025, 21min
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English
Screening: Sunday, 18 January 2026 at CRIPA at 21:59

Synopsis: In the coastal serenity of Auroville, the 2025 Adishakti Theatre Festival unfolds as a celebration of performance, spirit, and human connection. Through the voices of visionary artists and the pulse of powerful performances, this documentary captures the soul of a festival that transcends the stage. From intimate rehearsals to electrifying acts under the open sky, we witness how theatre here is not just art – it is ritual, resistance, and revelation. Set against the lush landscapes and vibrant community of Adishakti, the film invites you to experience a journey where boundaries dissolve, stories breathe, and the stage becomes the universe of our shared humanity.

Crew:

• Producer: Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art Research
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera: Divya Mani
• Sound: Savfk Music (YouTube), Kabbalistic_Village (Pixabay), “So Ja Re” by Mallika Taneja
• Cast: Nimmy Raphel, Vinay Kumar, Vishwakiran Nambi, Mallika Taneja, Smita Bellur, Saz Sadiq Asin Zakir, Sooraj Shahji, Kiyomi Mehta, Ashiqa Salvan
• Additional crew: Adishakti Theatre Team

AN AFTERNOON WITH DAS ANNA

Year, Duration: 2025, 6min 02sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Silent
Screening: Tuesday, 20 January 2026 at CRIPA at 19:05

Synopsis: Set in the streets of Auroville, the City of Dawn, this no-dialogue documentary spends an afternoon with Das, a quiet cobbler whose daily rituals unfold effortlessly into the rhythm of the street. His small, foldable shop sits tucked into a corner, barely noticeable yet always present. The film lingers on stillness and repetition, finding meaning in the quiet, everyday moments that often pass unseen.

Crew:

• Producer: Auroville Film Institute
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Pia Sukhija
• Cast: Das Anna

BLOOMING HOUR (மலரும் நேரம்)

Year, Duration: 2025, 14min 10sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Tamil with English subtitles
Screening: Tuesday, 20 January 2026 at CRIPA at 21:15

Synopsis: Trust brewing between the morning birds and the man who recently began feeding them.

Crew:

• Producer: Auroville Film Institute
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Logeswaran M

EARTH-CHITECTURE: BUILDING WITH MUD

Year, Duration: 2024, 10min 40sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English
Screening: Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at CRIPA at 19:00

Synopsis: Demonstrations on how to make CSEB and ferro cement for buildings.

Crew:

• Producer/Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Sampriti Roy
• Cast: Ayyappan, Radhika, Satprem

NOTES FOR THE SELF

Year, Duration: 2025, 10min 25sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English/Tamil with English subtitles
Screening: Tuesday, 20 January 2026 at Cinema Paradiso at 19:00

Synopsis: Portrait of the filmmaker’s mother during a visit to Auroville.

Crew:

• Producer: Auroville Film Institute
• Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Jahnavi Pradeep

REFLEKT

Year, Duration: 2025, 11min 08sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, English with English subtitles
Screening: Sunday, 25 January 2026 at Kalabhumi Amphitheatre at 19:30

Synopsis: Chronicles a filmmaking residency at the Auroville Film Institute.

Crew:

• Producer: Auroville Film Institute
• Director/Script/Editor/Camera/Sound: Santosh Manik

THE WAVES WILL NEVER STOP

Year, Duration: 2025, 10min 29sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: India, Tamil with English subtitles
Screening: Sunday, 18 January 2026 at Kalabhumi Amphitheatre at 21:37

Synopsis: Fisherman Narayanan carries memories of the 2004 Tsunami that shattered his village.

Crew:

• Producer: Auroville Film Institute
• Directors/Script/Editor/Camera: Kartik Sreenivasan, Sai Krishna L V, Sanjana Reddy

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

Year, Duration: 2025, 64min 55sec
Genre: Documentary
Country, Language: Canada, English
Screening: Tuesday, 20 January 2026 at CRIPA at 21:29

Synopsis: Inspired by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, asking what global crises are asking of us.

Crew:

• Producers/Directors/Editors: Alan Baiss, Joseh Garcia

Ashavari Majumdar a.k.a Vajrasara is the co-founder and Director of the MANIFEST Dance-Film Festival, India . She is an artist trained in classical dance and literary criticism and works across movement, text and image in different genres including . Ashavari’s current interest is the Asian dance-film. https://auroapaar.org/

T. Balasaravanan is an academic, theatre, and media professional with over thirty years of practical industry experience. His career encompasses over 100 stage productions as both a Lighting Designer and Director, as well as 15 years of experience as a professional Video Editor. His theatrical plays and edited documentary films have been showcased at national and international festivals.

Rajeev Shankar is a documentary filmmaker and photographer born and raised in Auroville, India. Rajeev began his storytelling journey at age 16 as a photographer. Rajeev’s creative work has now evolved toward filmmaking, where he focuses on real stories, real people, and highlighting stories often left untold. His visual background in photography continues to shape his cinematic style, blending striking imagery with intimate storytelling.

Gita While my long-ago academic background focused on French and culture studies, my world-of-work experience has been primarily in education and the social sector, in the USA, Haiti, France and India. Over the last five years in Auroville, I have worked as an educator with Future School and a writer / editor at Auroville Today Magazine.

Nitzan holds a MSc in Human Decision Science and has worked in research, entrepreneurship, and innovation for over a decade. Her experience includes founding tech startups, consulting on European R&D projects, and teaching in India. She now focuses on education and youth programs in Auroville. 

Synopsis

A friendship walks the distance between life and death in Nilesh Maniyar and Shonali Bose’s film. Loved ones pour in from different parts of the world to raise one last toast with Chika Kapadia, who has an appointment at Dignitas for physician assisted suicide in the coming week, having chosen not to be tied to tubes and wires in his last moments. A filmmaker friend tasked with shooting Chika’s countdown to death records her own feelings, weaving a tale of dignity in death through the lens of friendship. Ironically, the locale is beautiful Switzerland – the backdrop of many a blockbuster Indian film.

Festival Highlights

Screened at 7 festivals, among which the Busan International Film Festival 2024 (premiere) and the Los Angeles Asia Pacific Film Festival 2025. Awarded at the New York Indian Film Festival 2025.

Crew

• Producers/Directors: Shonali Bose, Nilesh Maniyar
• Editor: Tushar Ghogale
• Sound Designer: Resul Pookutty
• Composer: Tuomas Kantelinen

Synopsis

At just 6 years of age, Tibetan Kunsang found himself in a foreign country, living in an orphanage as both an orphan and a refugee. 30 years later, Kunsang shares his story of life living in exile. Set amongst the backdrop of the Himalayas in Northern India, this inspiring story captures the heart and spirit of Tibetan culture, sharing wisdom for overcoming the past, living for others, and creating a brighter future.

Crew

• Producer/Director/Writer: Zorba

Synopsis

Set in Equatorial Africa, in the heart of the Congo Basin, Afrotopia follows Ezekiel, a 25-year-old aspiring filmmaker who lives under the authority of his father, Maurice, a powerful businessman who opposes his artistic ambitions. Facing financial hardship, Ezekiel is forced to join the family logging business. Sent on a mission, he discovers that Maurice plans to exploit a sacred forest, the last refuge of an indigenous community. As he uncovers a buried colonial-era family tragedy, Ezekiel must choose between loyalty, personal freedom, and the fate of his people.

Crew & Cast

• Producer: David Mboussou
• Director: David Mboussou
• Writers: Olivier Messa, Nick Hella, David Mboussou
• Cast: Tiss Warren Mombo, Marcel Sandja, Jean-Claude M’Paka

Links

• Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo6yW7OPBbE
• Website: https://www.mavikanaproductions.com/en

Agent of Happiness

Synopsis

Amber is one of the many agents working for the Bhutanese government to measure people’s happiness levels among the remote Himalayan mountains. The film offers a unique take on the notoriously exoticized Bhutan and its unusual happiness policy. We follow Amber as he investigates various expressions of contentment, while navigating his own struggle as a Nepali minority. The holistic philosophy at the heart of the survey he conducts challenges conventional metrics of fulfillment. The film is a heartfelt exploration of happiness in the face of adversity as Amber grapples with societal disparities and personal roadblocks, while searching for love.

Festival Highlights

Screened at Sundance

Crew & Links

• Producers: Arun Bhattarai, Máté Artur Vincze, Noémi Veronika Szakonyi
• Directors: Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó
• Distributor: Cinephil
• Website: https://www.cinephil.com/film/agent-of-happiness

Aloha Aina

Synopsis

When Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio was a teenager, slam poetry gave her an outlet and a platform to educate audiences about the history of Hawaii’s colonization. Today, her poetry is focused on protecting sacred sites and working to create a future for the next generations of Native Hawaiians rooted in an embodied understanding of Aloha Aina – ‘love for and of the land.’ Challenging linear and reductive conceptions of history, this film dismantles fantasies of Hawaii as a tourist’s playground, calling us instead toward a recognition of what’s possible when we live in loving relationship with the land, and with each other.

Crew

• Producers: Adam Loften, Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, Devin Tellatin
• Directors: Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, Adam Loften
• Director of Photography: Jeremy Seifert
• Editor: Adam Loften

And, Towards Happy Alleys

Synopsis

A passionate declaration of love for the cinema and poetry of Iran, which also offers a frank view of the precarious situation for critics of the regime and shows the uncompromising daily struggle of Iranian women against their oppression.

Festival Highlights

Screened at 6 festivals, including the 2023 Berlinale International Film Festival (premiere) and the 2023 MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. Awarded at the 2023 Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independente.

Crew & Cast

• Producer: Sreemoyee Singh, Hussain Currimbhoy
• Director/Writer: Sreemoyee Singh
• Distributor: AFF Distribution, Worldwide, Theatrical
• Cast: Jafar Panahi, Aida, Mohammad Shirvani, Jinous Nazokhar

Links

• Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLJy6bOTsKQ
• Website: https://happyalleyfilms.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/towardshappyalleys/

Ballad Of The Mountain

Synopsis

An outcast girl must fight the bullies and overcome her fears to pursue her ambition to fly to the other side of the mountain.

Festival Highlights (Selected Awards)

Screened and awarded at 6 festivals, including the Smile International Film Festival for Children & Youth in New Delhi, the Chicago Southland International Short Film Festival and the Eichsfelder Film Festival in Germany.

Crew & Cast

• Producers: Tarun Jain, Nasira Khan, Sudha Jain, Naresh Jain
• Director: Tarun Jain
• Writers: Tarun Jain, Nasira Khan, Abhijeet Phartiyal
• Cast: Diya Bisht, Kavyanjali Bisht

Links

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tar.jain/

Breaking Language (Romper El Español)

Synopsis

Merging Argentinian Sign Language, dance, and documentary, Breaking Language presents the perspectives of four Deaf artists as they examine ideas of identity and resistance within a cultural and linguistic minority, the need for poetic and artistic creation in one’s own language, and the importance of feminism within the Deaf community.

Crew & Cast

• Producers: Gonzalo Castro, Sofía Castro
• Director: Sofia Castro
• Cinematography: Nacho Aveillé
• Original Music: Mariano Moreira, Tomás Aiello
• Editor: Eric Bernardo
• Cast: Maruvic Babino, Rosa Trueno, Lucía Fauve, Milagros Cardoso

Links

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scastrosofia/

Connection (Bailanysh)

Synopsis

The funeral of old man Meken is taking place in a distant mountain village. His brother and his nephew invite the grandson of the deceased Kelechek to his funeral, since Meken’s son is in America. With the arrival of the grandson, everyone understands that this was not a very good idea.

Crew & Cast

• Producer/Director/Writer: Zhandos Dzholdoshov
• Cast: Ulanbek Sultangaziyev, Asan Amanov, Kurmanbek Mamyrov

Cricket Dreams

Synopsis

Cricket Dreams is the inspiring story of nine former street-connected children from Delhi, who seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in the Street Child Cricket World Cup in Chennai, India. They experience things they never thought possible, discover parts of India they’ve never seen, and forge friendships with children from around the globe. Through the cricket tournament, an arts program, and a conference on child rights, they gain a platform to raise their voices and advocate for other street-connected children worldwide.

Festival Highlights

Screened and received mentions at the Delhi International Film Festival and the Beausoleil Côte d’Azur International FICTS Festival in France.

Crew & Links

• Producers: Conrad Alleblas, Jamillah van der Hulst
• Director: Jamillah van der Hulst
• Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1029960312
• Website: https://jajafilmproductions.com/portfolio-item/cricket-dreams/

Dear Beautiful Beloved

Synopsis

There is a war going on in Europe. Our neighbors are fleeing from death and destruction. Dear Beautiful Beloved will give a face to some of their stories. The film asks: What is it like to escape a war? What will be lost forever? What cannot be taken from a person?

Crew & Links

• Producers: Thomas Herberth, Florian Brüning
• Director/Writer: Juri Rechinsky
• Cinematographer: Serhiy Stetsenko
• Editing: Andrea Wagner
• Website: https://www.horseandfruits.com/portfolio/dear-beautiful-beloved/

Dear Daughter

Synopsis

A young Burmese woman who was trafficked to China and sold into marriage tells her story. Based on the real-life protagonist’s own words and beautifully rendered in pen-and-ink, this animation portrays a woman torn between her love for the child she was forced to bear and her longing for the country to which she may never be able to return.

Don Benjamín

Synopsis

For Don Benjamín, the jungle has always been God, life, food, health, beauty and tradition. Now, the world in which he built a home for his family turns to smoke and ashes. This film is a journey both raw and poetic through a magical region in danger: the Bolivian Amazon.

Crew

• Producers: Iván Zahinos, Francesc Álvarez
• Director/Writer: Iván Zahinos

Farming The Revolution

Synopsis

In 2020 Gurbaz Sangha, a young Punjabi farmer led thousands to Delhi protesting new Farm Laws. Joined by over half a million from diverse backgrounds they remained at borders despite COVID lockdown vowing to stay until laws were repealed.

Festival Highlights

Screened at three festivals among which the Sheffield Docfest 2024 in England. Awarded at Hot Docs 2024 in Toronto and at the IDSFF in Thiruvanthapuram.

Crew

• Producer/Director/Writer: Nishtha Jain
• Sales Agent: Cinephil (Worldwide)

Free Words: A Poet From Ghaza

Synopsis

Free Words follows Pulitzer-winner Mosab Abu Toha, a detained poet from Ghaza whose art becomes a powerful voice of resistance and hope amid oppression.

Crew & Cast

• Producer/Director/Writer: Abdullah Harun Ilhan
• Executive Producer: Aslıhan Eker Çakmak
• Cast: Mosab Abu Toha

Gingerbread For Her Dad

Synopsis

85-year-old Lyabiba doesn’t remember her father, who died in World War II. Her daughter and granddaughter decide to find the mass grave in Poland where he was buried. The journey confronts post-colonial Soviet traumas and a search for lost identity.

Festival Highlights

Screened at Busan and Torino. Awarded at Iranian Documentary Film Festival and Bastau International Film Festival.

Crew & Cast

• Director/Writer: Alina Mustafina
• Cast: Alissa Mustafina, Lyabiba Sermukhamedova

Links

• Website: http://uvent.kz/gingerbread
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gingerbread_for_her_dad/

Go My Way (Yo Voy Conmigo)

Synopsis

Elisa likes Martin, but Martin doesn’t seem to realise it. All the advice Elisa receives to make Martin fall in love with her is to change not only her appearance, but also who she really is. Will she give up being herself to get what she wants?

Crew & Cast

• Director/Writer: Chelo Loureiro
• Cast: Ana Portela, Uxía Castro

Goodbye Julia

Synopsis

Wracked by guilt after covering up a murder, Mona – a northern Sudanese retired singer in a tense marriage – tries to make amends by taking in the deceased’s southern Sudanese widow, Julia, into her home. Unaware that the country’s turmoil may find its way into her home and put her face to face with her sins.

Festival Highlights

Awarded at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

Crew

• Producer: Amjad Abu Alala
• Director/Writer: Mohamed Kordofani

Green SuperHeroes 2030

Synopsis

A group of 10 young environmentalists changing the world for the better. Their powers make the planet greener.

Crew & Links

• Producers/Director/Writer: Los Angeles Barea
• Website: https://www.greensuperheroesfilm.org
• Instagram: @green_superheroes_2030

Ground Zero: Self-portrait Of An Ocean Abuser

Synopsis

Ground Zero invites us to become aware of the problem of pollution in the oceans and the conflict it generates within us. It tries to make us reflect on our responsibility with the aim of helping us improve our commitment with small gestures.

Crew & Cast

• Director/Writer: David Gaspar
• Cast: David Gaspar, Elsa Punset, Manu San Félix

H2O My Love

Synopsis

Is it reasonable to fall in love during the end of the world? Alice and Simon meet as the water war rages.

Crew & Cast

• Director/Writer: Laëtitia Martinoni
• Cast: Chryssa Florou, Mehdi Djaadi

Hausnummer Null

Synopsis

Chris lives with his buddy Alex at a suburban train station. A heroin addiction determines his everyday life. The film explores how a young man can find his place in society when he hasn’t fitted in anywhere since childhood.

Festival Highlights

Awarded at DOK.fest Munich and Achtung Berlin.

Crew & Links

• Director/Writer: Lilith Kugler
• Website: https://www.hausnummernull.de/

I Stole Your Ashes (He Robado Tus Cenizas)

Synopsis

Isabel takes refuge in a park to say goodbye to the love of her life, her wife, while remembering their story and reflecting on loss. Based on the presumption of heterosexuality, this story is a mirror of love and loss.

Crew & Cast

• Director/Writer: Felipe Olaya
• Cast: Isabel Ordaz, Clara Sans

If (Jodi)

Synopsis

An arranged marriage tears a lesbian couple apart, but with a mother’s love, perhaps another future is possible.

Festival Highlights

Premiered at BFI Flare. Awarded at 8 festivals including Toulouse Indian Film Festival.

Crew & Cast

• Director: Tathagata Ghosh
• Cast: Adrija Majumdar, Shivamrita Chakraborty

In The Name Of

Synopsis

In a village town, two elderly men find themselves at a bus stop, their routine interrupted by a sudden event nearby. Their unexpected response leaves a profound impact that transcends the ordinary.

Crew & Cast

• Producer/Director/Writer: Rizwan Hussain
• Cast: Chinnaiya PV, Sundar, Ganesh K

In Ultimo

Synopsis

Claudio Ritossa is a palliative care physician with a passion for plant care. His devotion to gardening parallels his work caring for the terminally ill, restoring the naturalness of our journey on Earth.

Crew & Links

• Director/Writer: Mario Balsamo
• Website: https://lasarraz.com/

Invisible Windows (Adrishya Jalakangal)

Synopsis

A young man released from a mental asylum returns to an abandoned goods station. He starts experiencing strange things: in the night, the dead bodies in the morgue come alive and talk to him about their hopes and death.

Festival Highlights

Screened at Tallinn Blacknights. Awarded at Fantasporto.

Crew & Cast

• Director/Writer: Dr Bijukumar Damodaran
• Cast: Tovino Thomas, Nimisha Sajayan

Junks and Dolls

Synopsis

A couple is destined to build up their life in the heart of a waste depot in the Iranian north forests. They begin to make things with junk but must face the consequences of fighting their nature.

Crew & Cast

• Director: Manijeh Hekmat
• Cast: Behdokht Valian, Mohammad Valizadegan

Last Resort (Chareh)

Synopsis

An Iranian mother must find the will to change her destiny to be able to obtain custody of her daughter.

Crew & Cast

• Producer/Director/Writer: Samiramis Kia
• Cast: Leyla Shoghi, Hamid Sadri

My Comrade (Amar Comrade)

Synopsis

When a wounded rebel accidentally takes refuge in the home of a tribal villager, both men’s lives spiral into a tense interplay of politics and forbidden love.

Crew & Cast

• Director: Tathagata Ghosh
• Cast: Sounak Kundu, Aratrick Bhadra

No Other Land

Synopsis

Recorded between 2019 and 2023, the film shows the destruction of a Falasteen community in the occupied West Bank resisting forced displacement. This movie won more than 40 international awards.

Crew & Cast

• Directors: Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
• Cast: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra

Orain

Synopsis

Sara makes a documentary about a special education school. Through crazy situations and the help of the kids, she learns the importance of living in the present.

Crew & Cast

• Director: Ainara Oto Barberena
• Cast: Clara Galle, Tomy Aguilera

Patrol

Synopsis

Indigenous rangers join forces with conservationists to expose illegal cattle ranchers decimating rainforests in Central America.

Links

• Website: http://patrolmovie.com/
• Instagram: @patrolthemovie

Puffling

Synopsis

Birta and Selma rescue young puffins that get lost following city lights instead of the moon. A coming-of-age story of young adults and nature.

Crew

• Director: Jessica Bishopp
• Cinematographer: Anna MacDonald

Purga

Synopsis

Winter, 1942. Deported people struggle to survive on a remote island in the Laptev Sea. Based on memories of those who survived Soviet cruelty.

Links

• Website: http://www.purga.it

Pushpa Ka Rickshaw

Synopsis

Pushpa Didi breaks stereotypes by driving an e-rickshaw in central India, gaining a new identity and providing essential transport for her village.

Crew

• Director: Aajad Singh Khichi

Sunday

Synopsis

An elderly couple resists their sons’ plans to demolish their old home for a new one, creating a conflict between tradition and progress.

Crew & Cast

• Director/Writer: Shokir Kholikov
• Cast: Abdurakhmon Yusufaliyev

The Companions (La Compañía)

Synopsis

A young couple walks down the street for dinner. A crowd gathers around something unexpected.

Crew & Cast

• Director/Writer: José María Flores
• Cast: Alberto Amarilla, Elisabeth Larena

The First Film

Synopsis

In 1960s India, a 14-year-old embarks on a quest to watch her first film in a town where cinema is forbidden for women.

Crew & Cast

• Director/Editor/Writer: Piyush Thakur
• Cast: Priyanka Beriya, Vasudev Nishad

The Nightingale’s Song

Synopsis

Folk singer Sam Lee joins the elusive nightingale in mutual song, exploring a relationship of stewardship and love with the living world.

Crew

• Directors: Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, Adam Loften

The Strange Case Of The Human Cannonball

Synopsis

A mysterious stranger is found in a village of only six residents. They must decide what to do before he awakens.

Links

• Website: inquietofilms.com

The Voice Of Others (La Voix Des Autres)

Synopsis

Rim is a Tunisian interpreter working on asylum procedures in France. Translating the stories of exiled people raises questions about her own history.

Festival Highlights

Awarded at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

Crew & Cast

• Director: Fatima Kaci
• Cast: Amira Chebli, Siham Eldawos

The Wait

Synopsis

Mzu tries to help an elderly man waiting at a police station, facing resistance from a stifling bureaucratic system. An allegory of powerlessness and hope in South Africa.

Crew & Cast

• Director/Writer: Imran Hamdulay
• Cast: Siya Mayola, Cedwyn Joel

Village Rockstars 2

Synopsis

A teenage girl in Assam passionate about music embarks on a journey to rediscover the connection between music and life amidst harsh realities.

Festival Highlights

Screened at Berlinale. Awarded at Busan.

Crew & Cast

• Director/Writer: Rima Das
• Cast: Bhanita Das, Basanti Das

Where Trees Weep (Donde Se Quejan Los Pinos)

Synopsis

A rural community wakes up to a crime scene. A series of events reveals the conflicts that preceded the event in the forest.

Crew & Cast

• Director: Ed Antoja
• Cast: Ramón Barea, Almudena Amor

Why (Чому)

Synopsis

Consists of a series of questions: Why this war? Why are they shooting at us? Why humiliate us? Why erase everything?

Crew

• Director/Writer: Natxo Leuza Fernandez

Wisdom Of Happiness

Synopsis

A cinematic exploration of the Dalai Lama’s innermost world, inviting the audience to the source of happiness and compassion.

Crew & Cast

• Director: Barbara Miller, Philip Delaquis
• Cast: Dalai Lama

Links

• Website: autlookfilms.com/wisdom-of-happiness

Submissions 2025/26 closed now!

Join us for the 9th edition of the Auroville Film Festival! We invite filmmakers to share their stories in the following categories:

• Local Voices: Films made by Aurovilians and residents of the Auroville bioregion (including Pondicherry)
• Regional Perspectives: Films about Auroville or the bioregion (including Pondicherry)
• Youth Filmmakers: Films by school students (under 17) from Auroville or the bioregion

Eligibility:
• Films completed on or after May 1, 2023
• Maximum running time: 30 minutes

Deadlines:

• Local, Regional & Youth Categories: August 15, 2025
• International “Human Unity” Category (via FilmFreeway): July 31, 2025