For the film The Last Summer.
Shi Renfei is an independent Chinese filmmaker, writer, and director, born in Hefei, Anhui Province. She graduated from the Shanghai Film Academy (Shanghai University) and the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. Currently based in Shenzhen, she is dedicated to telling stories that explore the complexity of contemporary Chinese family life and the inner world of young women.
Continue reading Shi Renfei wins Best Script at Imagineindia2026She won it for the film THE LAST EXPEDITION.
Eliza Kubarska – a filmmaker and a climber. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts and the Wajda Film School in Warsaw,Poland. Author of award-winning documentaries that have been presented at festivals such as Hot Docs (Canada), Locarno FF, LA Film Festival, IDFA, BFI London, Margaret Mead (NYC). Her films: “What Happened on Pam Island» – a love story from Greenland, «Walking Under Water,» a story of sea Nomads from Borneo, “K2. Touching the Sky” filmed in the Karakoram, “Wall of Shadows», filmed in winter in the Himalayas» one of the most awarded mountain films ever, and “The Last Expedition,” winner of the EAGLE award, the Polish Oscar for Best Documentary in 2024,. She cooperate with ARTE, ZDF, HBO, Max, Amazon.
In her filmmaking, Eliza draws on her experience gained from mountain expeditions to the Karakoram, the Himalayas, Greenland, the High Atlas, Mali, and the jungles of Malaysia and Mexico. In a team with her life partner: alpinist and photographer David Kaszlikowski, she has established several hundred-meter-long routes in difficult-to-access mountain regions.
Born: July 18, 1985 – Qaemshahr, Iran
Fatemeh (Forough) Azizi is an Iranian filmmaker and film editor based in Tehran. She holds a Master’s degree in Women’s Studies and has an academic background in social research, which has informed her approach to filmmaking and her interest in exploring social realities through personal and human stories. She is a member of the Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA).
Azizi works primarily in fiction and documentary filmmaking, as well as film editing. Her cinematic interests center on human relationships, social experiences, and questions of gender and identity. Her background in Women’s Studies has contributed to a perspective that pays particular attention to the representation of women and to the ways in which social structures shape individual lives.
Continue reading Forough Azizi wins Best Short at Imagineindia 2026Ketaki Narayan is an Indian actress and model. She appears in Malayalam, Marathi Cinema, Telugu and Hindi Cinema. She debuted with the Marathi film Youth. She has appeared in several short films and musical albums.
She hails from Akola, Maharashtra. She studied in Bharat Vidyalay, Akola. She completed her graduation in Computers from MIT, Pune. Ketaki worked as a Software Engineer in Cognizant before becoming full time model and actress, She won the Radio Mirchi Queen Bee Miss Talent – 2014. Ketaki appeared on the cover of various magazines including Femina, Vogue, FWD, Creme, Vanitha and New Woman.
Continue reading Ketaki Narayan incorporates to Imagineindia as Jury memberThe japanese director will be given Honorary Award at the 25th edition of the Festival to be held in Madrid from 1 to 16 September 2026.
Hirokazu Kore-eda (born 6 June 1962) is a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He began his career in television and has since directed more than a dozen feature films, including Nobody Knows (2004) and Still Walking (2008).
He won the Jury Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival for Like Father, Like Son and the Palme d’Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival for Shoplifters.
Continue reading Hirokazu Koreeda Honoured at Imagineindia 2026The director will be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th edition of Imagineindia to take place in Madrid.
Wong Kar Wai is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure of Hong Kong cinema, Wong is considered a contemporary auteur and ranked third on Sight and Sound’s 2002 poll of the greatest filmmakers of the previous 25 years. His films frequently appear on best-of lists domestically and internationally.
Continue reading Wong Kar Wai honoured at Imagineindia with Lifetime Achievement AwardMandi
Shyam Benegal
India. 1983. 160 min
Cast : Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah
This classic film is based on a classic Urdu short story ‘Aanandi’ by Pakistani writer Ghulam Abbas. It deals with a brothel at the heart of a city, in an area that some politicians want for its prime locality. They rally up against the brothel and its inhabitants in the name of morality, and soon everyone in the area jumps on the bandwagon. The politicians offer to put up an alternative residence for the prostitutes, only this place is miles away, isolated from the city. The madam of the house has no choice but to comply, but by the end things take a (logical) turn for the better. After all, men will be men.
Under the sun
Yang Qiu
China. 2015. 19 min
Venue : Función Lenguaje
Date : 27 may. 19.30 h
One incident occurs, two families tangle. There’s nothing new under the sun.
In her words
Annie Zaidi
India. 2015. 42 min.
The Film traces the historical and social journeys of Indian women’s lives as revealed through the literature they created in every era. The story of how women lived, and their march towards freedom and self-definition was not officially documented. However, through the verses of nuns, bhakti devotee rebels, folk songs, verses written by courtesans, amateur anthropologists, the memoirs of activists, and modern literature, we witness the oppressions and aspirations of Indian womanhood over two millenia. The film traces these changes through the translators, publishers, historians, and contemporary writers and readers who are pushing towards a more gender equal society.
Something Better to Come
Hana Polak
Denmark/Poland. 2014. 95 min
Cast : Yula, Hanna Polak
Venue : Función Lenguaje
Dates : 28 may. 19.30h
Ten-year-old Yula has but one dream – to lead a normal life. For 14 years, Hanna Polak follows Yula as she grows up in the forbidden territory of Svalka, the garbage dump located 13 miles from the Kremlin in Putin’s Russia.
imagineindiafestival.com 