india shorts
India Shorts is a curated selection of short films that have their origins in India. Featuring animation, drama and documentaries, the films cover topics ranging from poverty, child labour, acid attacks, women's rights, relationships, urbanisation and folk lore to the perils of having a rooster as a pet.
title: Interior Cafe Night
synopsis: a multi-award winning short meditating on love, loss and reunion in a Kolkata café. With veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah in the only short film he’s ever starred in.
director: Adhiraj Bose
drama
13 mins 8 secs
2014
title: Printed Rainbow
synopsis: the journey of an old woman and her cat through their own fantastical world, Rao painted the entire film frame by frame over three years. Printed Rainbow premiered in Cannes Critic's Week in 2006, winning three awards in Cannes and twenty-two other international awards.
director: Gitanjali Rao
animation
15 mins 13 secs
2005
title: The Gatekeeper
synopsis: a poetic film about the humdrum life of a man who guards a railway crossing on the outskirts of the city. His only source of pleasure is watching the trains passing by. And his own reflections.
director: Atanu Mukherjee
drama
14 mins 31 secs
2018
title: Good Morning Mumbai!
synopsis: a wry, darkly comic animation that addresses the overcrowded and unsanitary life of the poor in the city of Mumbai, and how they are made to pay for continuing urbanisation.
directors: Rajesh Thakare and Troy Vasanth
animation
12 mins 41 secs
2012
title: Keli
synopsis: an animated tale of ancient Kerala folk figure Pottan Theyyam and how his wild, fire-lit dancing enthrals a little girl in the audience - and evokes dreams in her mother. The film is tenderly hand-drawn, frame by frame.
director: Ranjitha Rajeevan
animation
6 mins 48 secs
2013
title: Audacity
synopsis: a thirteen-year-old girl has her first real confrontation with authority when her father forbids her from playing the American dance music she loves. A dark comedy about parental authority, teenage rebellion, curry, whiskey and house music.
director: Anirban Roy
drama
13 mins 37 secs
2012
title: The Joy of Giving
synopsis: shot in Mumbai, this film finds an Irani café owner catching a local boy stealing sweets from his counter. As the tale unfolds it becomes apparent to the owner that the boy steals in order to eat.
director: Shlok Sharma
drama
9 mins 20 secs
2010
title: Tungrus
synopsis: family life is disrupted when father adopts a rooster as a pet. Despite everyone (including the two family cats) trying to adjust to the new situation, Tungrus’ constant crowing and aggression drives the film to its inevitable conclusion. A multi-awarding winning real life comedy.
director: Rishi Chanda
documentary
12 mins 54 secs
2019
title: B’neath The Flyover
synopsis: the life and challenges of destitute living on the roadside in India. The film highlights the socio-economic disparities that become an excuse for violation of rights, as those already suffering become victims of the police.
director: Md. Amirudsin
documentary
9 mins 50 secs
2015
title: Tumling Street
synopsis: a beautiful, multi-award winning film made using hand-built sets, stop-motion animated figures and digital animation. Set in Sikkim on India’s north-east border, the film follows a young girl’s day-to-day struggles.
director: Anindita Mondal
animation
5 mins 10 secs
2015
title: Chotu Chaiwal (Little Tea Boy)
synopsis: the story of a deprived child labourer, Chotu Chaiwal addresses the right to education, something that is a distant hope for many in India. Chotu Chaiwal also illustrates how children in terrible poverty still continually search for happiness.
director: Chirag Pandya & Priya Sogani
drama
7 mins 6 secs
2017
title: The Rice Mill Story
synopsis: the film's protaganist never realised that, for a small amount of money paid as an advance, he would end up in bonded labour. Promised a wage of sixty thousand rupees, he is given just five hundred. The story captures the struggle of bonded labourers and their families worldwide.
director: Amith Krishnan
documentary
6 mins 26 secs
2017
title: Women
synopsis: using mime and a poetic commentary, Women highlights various human rights violations of women, and the challenges they face in day to day life - upholding their right to equality, health, dignity and freedom.
director: Pawan Singh
drama
10 mins 16 secs
2016
title: Tritio Chad (The Third Roof)
synopsis: Tritio Chad is the story of a woman who once dreamt of flying kites in the sky, but was told that to do so, she needs the help of a man. Her father and brother failed. Now everything depends on her husband. The film wraps around her journey to freedom.
director: Tathagata Chatterjee
drama
10 mins
2018