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Indian Films Set for World Premieres at 2026 Busan Festival
The Busan International Film Festival has chosen several films from India for its 2026 event.
Six of them will have their world premieres in a section featuring new Asian films.
The selected films include movies by Rima Das, Anuparna Roy, Leo Thaddeus, and Vishwendra Singh.
One film is about a boy living in a village, while another follows brothers facing a bird flu outbreak.
Other Indian films will appear in different festival sections.
Anuparna Roy will also serve on the festival’s shorts jury.
The festival will take place in Busan, South Korea, from October 6 to 15.
This gives the filmmakers a chance to show their work to audiences from across Asia.
Six Indian films are selected for the 2026 Busan International Film Festival’s ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ section.
The films include Rima Das’ Not a Hero, Anuparna Roy’s Lovers in the Blue Light, and Leo Thaddeus’ The Soul Whisperer.
Vishwendra Singh’s Khoriya follows two Nepali half-brothers during a bird flu outbreak near Delhi NCR.
Selvi and Birds in the Dark will screen in the ‘Vision Asia’ category, while Salt Electric enters the Asian short-film competition.
The festival will run from October 6 to 15, 2026, at the Busan Cinema Center in South Korea.
- Who
- Indian filmmakers including Rima Das, Anuparna Roy, Leo Thaddeus, Vishwendra Singh, Sahil Shah, Sandeep Kumar Paul, Sailesh Rathnakumar, Shashank Walia, and Promita Dhar.
- What
- Several Indian films were selected for the 2026 Busan International Film Festival, including six world premieres in ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’.
- Where
- The event will take place at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea.
- When
- The festival will be held from October 6 to 15, 2026.
- Why
- The films were selected to showcase new and notable Asian cinema and give the works international and regional audiences.
Key facts
- Festival
- 31st Busan International Film Festival
- Dates
- October 6–15, 2026
- Location
- Busan Cinema Center, Busan, South Korea
- World-premiere section
- ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’
- Additional selections
- Selvi and Birds in the Dark are in ‘Vision Asia’; Salt Electric is in the ‘Wide Angle: Asian Short Film Competition’.
- Featured film
- Khoriya concerns two Nepali half-brothers running a poultry farm during a sudden bird flu outbreak.
- Title discrepancy
- The article refers to Anuparna Roy’s film as both Lovers in the Blue Light and Loves in the Blue Night.
Quotes
Anuparna Roy
Indian filmmaker and member of the Busan shorts jury
“Having an Asian Premiere in Busan feels incredibly special to me. To see the film find its way to this wonderful audience, and to return to Busan as a jury member, is an honour I receive with a very full heart. I feel deeply grateful for the trust, the opportunity, and for being surrounded by so many beautiful stories and voices from across Asia. Cinema has a way of bringing us together, and I feel very lucky to be a small part of that journey.”
telegraphindia.com
Dileesh Pothan
Actor, director and co-producer associated with Malayalam cinema
“What drew me to the film was Leo’s sensitivity in approaching the story and his willingness to let silence, stillness and performance speak for themselves”
telegraphindia.com
Vishwendra Singh
Filmmaker and director of Khoriya
“Khoriya began with my interest in people who have been deprived of a sense of home – people who leave everything behind and arrive in an unfamiliar city in search of a more dignified life”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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