Shorts Package. Best of Critics Choice Awards 2026 by the Film Critics Guild

Synopsis

Warm Shadows (Punjabi, Hindi/ 2025/ 15 mins) Dir. Aakash Chhabra. Warm Shadows is a fragmented voice-over that unfolds the fractured yet tender relationship the two share. Priya tells him about the day she first met her husband and agreed to marry him because he wore embroidered shoes. Raag, in his twenties, sits in a taxi passing through the Busan metropolitan area. In the present, he returns home after his mother’s death, bearing the burden of never truly having known who Priya was as a person.

The Cycle (Hindi, Punjabi/ 2025/ 18 mins) Dir. Arpita Mukherjee. The Cycle follows a single day in the life of a young Punjabi housewife in Chandigarh, who becomes obsessed with losing weight after joining a local cycling club. As she pedals through the city's manicured streets and hidden corners, she begins to confront the true cost of seeking individuality and freedom within the rigid confines of domestic life.

Tumhari Baari Jo/ Jo's Turn (Hindi/ 2025/ 15 mins) Dir. Vinoo Choliparambil. Every Sunday, Jo's family gathers for their cherished Scrabble ritual—a small oasis of laughter and playful banter. But this Sunday,Jo,  who has long hidden her sexuality from her traditional yet loving Indian family, decides to finally speak her truth. 

Khooh Waala Ghar/ Room at the Farm (Punjabi/ 2025/ 23 mins) Dir. Jasmine Kaur Roy and Avinash Roy. Nihal is trapped in a relentless cycle of debt, fighting to hold onto his small plot of farmland. His refusal to accept defeat puts growing strain on his young marriage and tests the patience of his wife, Reet. Khooh Waala Ghar is the story of a couple struggling to express love in the face of hardship and an uncertain future—and a community's last stand against the relentless tide of development and inevitable change.

Aasmaani Jhoola (Hindi/ 2026/ 20 mins) Dir. Mohammed Ali Rukadikar. Set against the vibrant chaos of a century‑old annual Mela in Mahim, Mumbai, the film follows Munna, a 28‑year‑old pickpocket and struggling poet who steals as much for survival as for the thrill. When he lifts the wallet of Shraddha—a woman drifting aimlessly through the crowd—he discovers a suicide note tucked inside. Moved by her words, Munna races across the fairgrounds to find her, all while being hunted by a relentless cop. What unfolds is a tense, emotional journey of narrow escapes, a life‑changing ride on a Giant Wheel, and a moment of human connection that offers both Munna and Shraddha a fragile sliver of hope and redemption.