Villari

Directed by Prashant VanjaniIndia 

2020 Short 17 min Hindi (English subtitles)A fugitive man takes refuge in a nondescript lodge, and doesn't step out for a few days. In his thoughts, dreams, and hallucinations, the presence of another man is felt, who seems like the person expected to hunt him down. Does this other man arrive one morning?

Based on "The Waiting", a short story by Jorge Luis Borges.

Best Original Concept:

Neti Neti (Not This, Not This)

Directed by Dr Sudeep Ranjan SarkarIndia 2013 Short 27 min English and BengaliIndia premiere

About the eternal search of humankind: Is all that we perceive real? Isn't life a cosmic dream? It is time we seek the eternal truth that has eluded us.

The protagonist Dreamer faces these questions in her dream, in which she assumes the identities of a grave-digger, a "Dom", a child, an old lady, a prostitute, a Baul singer. In her dream she is also the witness, and sees God through her belief patterns. She is confused when she perceives a nameless being playing dice with God and herself. All these and more leave her perplexed. Truth, as the Dreamer realizes, is "Endless Genesis in the sea of Nirvana."

Special Mention: Connection Failed

Directed by Ninad KulkarniIndia 2013 Thriller 11 min English

Tofael works in a tea stall and lives near the Moghbazar wireless rail crossing in Dhaka, Bangladesh. One day a man comes to Tofael's stall for tea, and forgets his mobile there. Tofafel finds it, looks for the man and returns his mobile.

Best Documentary: Illusive Peace in Kashmir

Directed by Shuja PaulIndia 2011 Documentary 30 min English

Paradise on earth seems serene, the mountain peaks waiting to be explored, the sparkling lakes changing colors, lush meadows teasing the cool breeze and valley decorated by streams singing songs of nature. However, the Peace here is always illusive. There has never been a dearth of reasons for the valley to turn into hell in an instant.

Illusive Peace takes you to the foothills of Himalayas and provides an in-depth story of the place, the people and the ever lurking conflict in the region. The most beautiful place is also the most dangerous place, caught up between the two nuclear countries this place is a probable nuclear flash point