A low-budget independent drama shot over just eighteen days took the top prize at this year’s regional film festival, beating out several larger studio productions in the main competition.
The film, made on a fraction of the budget of its rivals, follows a single family across one monsoon season and was largely shot with a cast of first-time actors from the region where it’s set.
“We didn’t have the resources to fake anything, so we leaned into that,” the director said backstage after the win. “Every location in the film is a real place, not a set.”
The director said the film’s small crew allowed for a more intimate shooting schedule, with scenes often reworked on the day based on how locations and weather actually looked.
A wider theatrical release is now being discussed with two regional distributors, and festival organisers say interest from international programmers has picked up noticeably since the award was announced.
