Category Archives: Short Films Section

Sacred Sal Tree (Mansingh Baskey) India

Sacred Sal Tree
Mansingh Baskey
India. 2025. 15 min

The film highlights the conflict between tribal life and the formal justice system. Tibru Munda, a poor tribal villager, is arrested for carrying firewood taken from a fallen tree and is charged under forest laws. In court, his honest explanation is ignored due to rigid legal procedures and deep-rooted prejudice. His refusal to swear on the Gita, and his choice of the sacred Sat tree instead, reveals the cultural gap between tribal beliefs and state institutions. Through Tibru’s struggle, the film questions the idea of justice, ownership of forests, and the survival of indigenous identity.

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Where do the Trees Go (Mansingh Baskey) India

Where do the Trees go
Mansingh Baskey
India. 2025. 15 min

Eight-year-old Sagen is brought to live with his uncle and aunt after his mother remarries following his father’s death. The sudden change leaves him withdrawn, struggling to feel at home in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. Though his uncle and aunt try to make him feel welcome, the house remains just a house—never quite a home. As they argue over legal guardianship and his schooling, Sagen seeks solace in the forest, the only place that feels free. But over time, small moments start to break the ice.
A quiet understanding grows, and one day, Kisku joins them at the dining table—something he once refused to do. Just as he begins to find the warmth of a family, his mother returns for one final goodbye before leaving forever. Standing before her, Sagen feels nothing—or perhaps too much. He doesn’t speak, doesn’t move closer, doesn’t hug her, unaware that this might be the last time he’ll ever see her. His uncle, witnessing their meeting, is furious. The argument that follows fills the house with fear, and once again, Sagen runs—terrified of losing the home he was just beginning to find. But will his new parents bring him back? Or will he be lost once more?

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Nest (Asmita Pal) India

Nest
Asmita Pal
India. 2025. 21 min

On an ordinary morning that transforms drastically, a young girl moves through the rhythms of her home. Her mother, an ornithologist who traded fieldwork for domesticity, is restless in ways the girl can sense but not name. As the day unfolds in arguments behind closed doors, in the steadying presence of the family maid, in the sudden visit of a bird to her mother’s room the girl watches the world she knows begin to shift. By evening, something has been irrevocably lost.

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Matter (Pujit Kalash) India

Matter
Pujit Kalash
India. 2025. 24 min

Karthik, a 25-year-old corporate employee, wants to attend his grandmother’s 80th birthday party on the other side of Mumbai. However, he becomes embroiled in a perilous mission to rescue his best friend Ankit, who’s been trapped by the ruthless Shetty Anna. As he navigates this chaos, Karthik encounters intense action, all while racing against time.

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Mol (Dhairya Zaveri) India

Mol
Dhairya Zaveri
India. 2025. 20 min

Mol follows Prakash, a young migrant worker who arrives in Surat, the sprawling textile hub of India. Driven by the hope of supporting his family back home. As he enters the city’s relentless power loom industry alongside his uncle, he is gradually exposed to the brutal realities of labour exploitation. Confronted with loss and systemic indiference,
Prakash’s innocence slowly gives way to a cold emotional detachment.

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Ants (Yu Ai) China

Ants
Yu Ai
China. 2025. 21 min

Nana, living under her oppressive father’s control, sympathizes with her mother, Li Jun, enduring the tyranny together. One day, she meets Lin, a captivating singer at a bar, whose voice and red dress remind her of a younger Li Jun. As Nana learns about Lin’s tragic past, she begins to admire her strength.
Encouraged by Lin, Nana starts standing up to her father, but Li Jun defends him. Despite her disappointment, Nana continues to protect both Li Jun and Lin. Eventually, a surprise encounter between Li Jun and Lin reveals an unexpected side of her mother, challenging Nana’s understanding.

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