Entertainment · Film · 1 hr ago
Short film about a Delhi tree selected for Kathmandu documentary festival
A Spring Against All Odds is a short film by Roundglass Sustain, based on a story and script by Radhika Raj and directed and edited by Samreen Farooqui.
It follows Raj’s connection with a red silk cotton tree, known as a semal, outside her home in Delhi.
Raj began filming the tree in 2021, after moving into the home with her partner, Saptak.
The tree and two grey hornbills living in it became a steady presence as Raj and the city faced several difficult years, including the pandemic, pollution, floods and personal loss.
The film shows how the tree, the city and Raj’s own life became intertwined.
The film is one of 48 selected for Film SouthAsia, an international documentary festival in Kathmandu.
The festival is scheduled to run from November 27 to 29, 2026.
A Spring Against All Odds, a short film about a red silk cotton tree in Delhi, was selected for the Film SouthAsia documentary festival in Kathmandu.
The festival is scheduled to run from November 27 to 29, 2026.
The film follows Radhika Raj’s three years observing the semal tree outside her home.
Directed and edited by Samreen Farooqui, the film connects the tree with changes in Radhika’s life and events in the city.
The tree and a pair of grey hornbills living in it feature alongside Radhika, her partner, house help and cats.
- Who
- Roundglass Sustain’s film A Spring Against All Odds, based on a story and script by Radhika Raj and directed and edited by Samreen Farooqui.
- What
- The short film was selected for Film SouthAsia, an international documentary film festival.
- When
- The festival is scheduled for November 27–29, 2026.
- Where
- Kathmandu, Nepal. The film focuses on a semal tree outside Raj’s home in Delhi.
- Why
- Not stated.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
It became an antidote to what was happening in my life
We started to think about the tree and the city and decided to expand on that idea, because the city is full of red silk cotton trees.
there was no escaping or separating her from the tree or the city
Radhika Raj and her partner moved into a new home overlooking the semal tree.
Raj filmed the tree and the changes around it, developing the footage into a film.
Film SouthAsia is scheduled to take place in Kathmandu, where the film is among 48 selected films.
- Film
- A Spring Against All Odds
- Festival
- Film SouthAsia
- Selection
- One of 48 films
- Festival location
- Kathmandu
- Festival dates
- November 27–29, 2026
- Tree
- Red silk cotton, also known as semal
Sources
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