"On day one itself, I asked the group, what kind of a film do you want to make? While there were lots of answers and suggestions, Nazneen said, we don’t want a story of poor, weeping women from a slum with a sad song in the background. As a documentary scholar, I saw this as a refusal of a certain kind of outsider gaze. The women told me, we want to make a film about how we live despite the challenges we face."
"Birds In The Dark unravels with subdued, simmering intensity. Voices swell in unison in latter stretches. This tapestry of rebellion finds strength in solidarity. There’s persistence and resolve in communities that march shoulder to shoulder. Walia hails a spirit of resistance, unforgettably steered by Singh."
From Debanjan Dhar's Review on The Outlook.
(This registers your interest in the film, on basis of which screenings if viable can be initiated in consultation with the stakeholders and you can also be updated on the film.)
"On day one itself, I asked the group, what kind of a film do you want to make? While there were lots of answers and suggestions, Nazneen said, we don’t want a story of poor, weeping women from a slum with a sad song in the background. As a documentary scholar, I saw this as a refusal of a certain kind of outsider gaze. The women told me, we want to make a film about how we live despite the challenges we face."
(This registers your interest in the film, on basis of which screenings if viable can be initiated in consultation with the stakeholders and you can also be updated on the film.)
(This registers your interest in the film, on basis of which screenings if viable can be initiated in consultation with the stakeholders and you can also be updated on the film.)
(This registers your interest in the film, on basis of which screenings if viable can be initiated in consultation with the stakeholders and you can also be updated on the film.)
Dharamshala International Film Festival Selection 2026. In case you cannot attend, click below to express your interest for any of the films you want to be screened in your city.
Indians films showcasing at Busan International Film Festival 2026 (6th-15th October)
Click the link below to express your interest for any of the films you want to be screened in your city.
Section: Vision - Asia
· Birds in the Dark (Shashank Walia)
· Selvi (Sailesh Rathnakumar)
Section: A Window on Asian Cinema
· About an Intimate Matter (Sandeep Kumar Paul)
· Birds on Ice (Sahil H. Shah)
· Chevittorma (The Soul Whisperer) (Leo Thaddeus)
· Khoriya (Vishwendra Singh)
· Lovers in the Blue Night (Anuparna Roy)
· Not a Hero (Rima Das)
Section: Asian Short Film Competition
· Salt Electric (Paromita Dhar)
(This registers your interest in the film, on basis of which screenings if viable can be initiated in consultation with the stakeholders and you can also be updated on the film.)
(This registers your interest in the film, on basis of which screenings if viable can be initiated in consultation with the stakeholders and you can also be updated on the film.)
(This registers your interest in the film, on basis of which screenings if viable can be initiated in consultation with the stakeholders and you can also be updated on the film.)
"The whole story became about him trying to find his own music and asking, “What is my music?” That search became a meta phor for his inner crisis."
- Ustaad Bantoo's director Arsh Jain's interview in Platform Magazine.
(This registers your interest in the film, on basis of which screenings if viable can be initiated in consultation with the stakeholders and you can also be updated on the film.)