Indian independent cinema takes centre stage at Busan Film Festival 2026 with nine films exploring migration, identity, queer experiences, regional cultures and political unrest.
Busan Film Festival 2026 (Photo: Film Posters)
ByETV Bharat Entertainment Team
Hyderabad:Indian independent cinema is taking the international spotlight at the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), which is being held in South Korea from October 6 to 15, 2026. The festival features a diverse selection of Indian films across its key sections, including A Window on Asian Cinema, Vision – Asia and the Asian Short Film Competition. The lineup brings together established filmmakers and debutants, with stories rooted in different regions, languages and lived experiences.
From a Malayalam drama exploring death and faith to a Punjabi-led multilingual film set against political unrest, this year’s selection reflects the range of stories emerging from Indian independent cinema. Migration, loneliness, identity, queer experiences and social divisions run through several films, while regional languages and new voices remain central to the lineup.
Indian Films at Busan International Film Festival 2026
The Indian films featured at BIFF 2026 include:
- Not A Hero – Rima Das
- Lovers In The Blue Night – Anuparna Roy
- About An Intimate Matter – Sandeep Kumar Paul
- Birds On Ice – Sahil H. Shah
- The Soul Whisperer (Chevittorma) – Leo Thaddeus
- Khoriya – Vishwendra Singh
- Birds In The Dark – Shashank Walia
- Selvi – Sailesh Rathnakumar
- Salt Electric – Paromita Dhar
The films are spread across different festival sections, with several making their world premieres and others arriving after screenings at international festivals. Here’s a closer look at the Indian titles and the stories they bring to Busan.
Directed by Rima Das, Not A Hero is a 97-minute, multilingual coming-of-age drama that follows Mivan, an 11-year-old boy whose family moves him from the city to his ancestral village in Assam. The change forces him to adjust to a new environment, away from the familiar comforts of urban life. The film explores childhood, belonging and the experience of growing up between different worlds. It made its Asian premiere at BIFF on October 8.
Directed by Anuparna Roy, this 107-minute Hindi-language film explores migration, loneliness, desire and belonging against the backdrop of Mumbai’s nightlife. The story follows four migrants whose lives intersect as they navigate displacement and their search for connection in the city. The film arrived in Busan following its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, where Roy won the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film for the project. It had its Asian premiere at BIFF on October 8.
Written and directed by debut filmmaker Sandeep Kumar Paul, About An Intimate Matter is a Bengali and Hindi-language feature exploring identity, intimacy and the effects of social prejudice. The psychological queer drama follows Swarna, a high school science teacher, and her partner Driti, who move to a conservative suburban town hoping to begin a new chapter together. Their relationship faces the pressures of a society where private choices can become subjects of public scrutiny. The film had its world premiere at BIFF on October 8.
Directed by debut filmmaker Sahil H. Shah, Birds On Ice is a Ladakhi-language feature set against the cold, mountainous landscape of Ladakh. The film follows Tashi, a young girl living with her ageing grandfather, and draws on the region’s distinctive winter sports culture. Its selection brings a story rooted in Ladakh to an international audience, offering a glimpse into a community and way of life rarely explored on screen. The film is scheduled for its world premiere on October 10.
5. The Soul Whisperer (Chevittorma)
Written and directed by Leo Thaddeus, this Malayalam-language drama stars Dileesh Pothan and Pauly Valsan. Set in the hills of Kerala, the film centres on Theresia, a woman who sits beside dying people and whispers prayers believed to guide their souls towards a peaceful death. When she is summoned to the ancestral home of a powerful landlord nearing the end of his life, the ritual vigil becomes a confrontation with buried memories and unresolved histories. The film premiered at BIFF on October 8.
Directed by debut filmmaker Vishwendra Singh, Khoriya is an 81-minute feature in Nepali and Hindi. Set on the outskirts of the Delhi-NCR region, the film follows two Nepali half-brothers who run a poultry business to make a living. Their fragile livelihood collapses when a bird flu outbreak devastates their livestock, forcing them to confront uncertainty and economic hardship. The film had its world premiere scheduled for October 9.
Written, directed and shot by Shashank Walia, Birds In The Dark is a 141-minute Punjabi-led multilingual film that explores love, repression, resistance and human connection amid political unrest. Set against the backdrop of the farmers’ uprising in Punjab, it follows a disillusioned police informer who forms an unexpected connection with a wrongly accused Muslim man from Kashmir. Produced by Hansal Mehta, Sahil Saigal and Reema Kaur, the film uses a black-and-white visual style to tell its story. It is competing in the Vision – Asia section and is scheduled for its world premiere on October 10.
Directed by Sailesh Rathnakumar, Selvi is a 97-minute Tamil-language drama starring Anjali Patil, who also produced the film under her banner Anahat Films. The story follows a young, unmarried migrant nurse from a small town in Tamil Nadu as she balances her own ambitions with her family’s financial needs. Inspired by observations of migrant home-care workers during the pandemic, the film looks at the demanding lives of people who care for others while remaining separated from their own families. It is scheduled for its world premiere on October 9.
Written and directed by Paromita Dhar, Salt Electric is a 12-minute Konkani-language short set in a traditional Catholic household in rural Goa during the monsoon season of the late 1990s. The film explores life within a strict family environment and the tensions that emerge from its social and cultural expectations. Its selection in the Wide Angle: Asian Short Film Competition brings a Konkani-language story to the festival’s competitive short-film programme. The film is scheduled for its world premiere on October 9.
Why Busan Matters for Indian Independent Cinema
Founded in 1996, the Busan International Film Festival has grown into one of Asia’s major platforms for discovering filmmakers and introducing regional stories to international audiences. Its focus on emerging talent gives independent filmmakers an opportunity to present their work beyond domestic markets and connect with global audiences, distributors and industry professionals.
