The second edition of India’s Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF) has unveiled its CinéV-CHD Market lineup featuring 22 diverse projects from established and emerging filmmakers, with more than half being women-oriented ventures.
The curated selection, which will run alongside the festival from March 20-23, in Chandigarh, spotlights creative forces who have made significant contributions to Indian cinema, spanning languages including Chinese, English, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Urdu, Gujarati, Telugu, Bengali, and Kannada.
“Sister Midnight” actor Radhika Apte steps into the director’s chair for “Koyta” (Sickle), produced by acclaimed filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane (“Black Warrant”). The Hindi/Marathi action-fantasy follows a young migrant sugarcane cutter who gains superpowers after a forced medical procedure and uses them to free her family from debt.
Veteran director Hansal Mehta, known for “Shahid” and “Scam 1992,” produces “Hanere De Panchi” (Birds in the Dark), a Kashmiri/Punjabi/Urdu drama from emerging director Shashank Walia about a disillusioned police agent and a wrongly accused man who find unexpected love amidst a rising farm revolution.
Acclaimed actor-director Nandita Das, who previously helmed “Firaaq,” “Manto” and “Zwigato,” presents “Avi & Smi,” an English/Hindi drama she both directs and produces, exploring a separated couple revisiting their 16-year marriage over the course of a day and night.
Rising star Kani Kusruti, fresh off her performance in Cannes Grand Prix winner “All We Imagine as Light,” serves as co-producer for “Guptam” (The Last of Them Plagues), a Malayalam drama directed by Kunjila Mascillamani about a single mother whose daughter disappears in a graveyard, forcing her to prove to locals she isn’t causing God’s wrath.
Shonali Bose (“The Sky is Pink”) directs “Black Mountain Monpa,” produced by Anshulika Dubey, about a linguist sent to propagate Hindi in Arunachal Pradesh who tries to save an endangered language. Acclaimed actor Manju Warrier produces “Beyond The Border Lines,” directed by three-time Indian National Film Award winner Bijukumar Damodaran, following an archaeology team stranded at the Indo-China border.
“The Blade Runner,” a biographical drama directed by Honey Trehan and co-produced with Abhishek Chaubey, chronicles war hero D.P. Singh’s journey to become India’s first blade runner. Prateek Vats directs “Chronicles of a Confession,” produced by Ranjan Singh and backed by Anurag Kashyap and Payal Kapadia, about a young shawl seller’s confession to a crime he didn’t commit in Kashmir.
Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy’s “Friends and Fascism,” produced by Aishwarya Sonar, depicts an all-girls Catholic boarding school election between former best friends. Rishi Chandna both directs and produces “Ghol” (The Catch), showing a struggling fisherman’s hopes pinned on a rare, valuable catch.
Venkatesh Maha creates “Ko Ko Ko,” a Telugu film about a constant loser challenging his village’s brutal cockfighting tradition. Ajitpal Singh, whose debut feature “Fire in the Mountains” premiered at Sundance 2021, presents “Marx and Lenin,” produced by his and Mauli Singh’s Jugni Films LLP, following a journalist and filmmaker venturing into Maoist-controlled jungle for a career-defining story.
Krishand R.K. helms “Masthishka Maranam” (A Frankenbiting of Simon’s Memories), a mind-bending comedy thriller about a grieving father in a VR memory game. Aakash Bhatia directs “Papita,” produced by actor Richa Chadha, following a paparazzi photographer who captures a shocking celebrity incident.
Atul Sabharwal both directs and produces “Prem Patra” (Love Letter), a romance about a forlorn postman manipulating letters sent to a woman by her soldier husband. Jeo Baby, director of the critically acclaimed “The Great Indian Kitchen,” brings two projects to the market — “Guptam” as producer and “Punishment” as director, the latter about an arrogant teacher challenged by an eight-year-old who rejects corporal punishment.
Disha Rindani directs “Savvy Savitri,” produced by Anushka Shah, following a housing society secretary whose life changes when her husband becomes a sex offender. Mohammad Gani’s “Taimur,” produced by Atif Khan and Sanjay Gulati, tells of a kind-hearted man who keeps his infertility secret from his wife.
Pranav Brara directs “Talaab” (The Pond), produced by Sanita Chittilappilly, about a woman becoming aware of her schizophrenic behavior caused by toxic parenting. Karan Tejpal’s “Ummeed” (Hope), produced by Dimpy Agrawal, follows a same-sex couple whose illegal sperm donation unleashes a mysterious force.
“Table for One,” the sole animation anthology among the projects, is produced by “Little Things” creator Dhruv Sehgal and directed by Debjyoti Saha, using food as a prism to explore complex human narratives.
Rounding out the selection is “An Unreal Story,” directed by Utpal Borpujari and produced by Busan-winning Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage (“Paradise”), about a hostage who tries to escape by manipulating a child soldier at a militant camp in India’s Northeast.
CinéV-CHD has also partnered with the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) for CinéV-IFFLA, a collaboration to integrate South Asian projects into IFFLA’s Industry Days program scheduled for May 6-10.
“It was extremely heartening to find submissions growing exponentially from last year, both in number and quality,” said project market curator Namrata Joshi. “It has meant that we have been able to showcase a very rich platter of unique, compelling and engaging stories – from a mind-bending thriller to sweeping romance, from psychological drama to queer horror, from an animation series spun on food to an absurd comedy and a cross-border adventure.”
Nina Lath, founder & CEO of Cinevesture, underscored the investment potential of the selected projects: “Investing in a film and putting it out there in the market is akin to investing in a startup with a quick turnaround and exit strategy. We hope that this curation will mark the beginning of instilling investor confidence in the production of films as part of their diversification portfolios.”