Entertainment · Indian Cinema · 3 hrs ago
Ladakh-set film ‘Kakthet’ wins inaugural co-production fund
Stenzin Tankyong’s film ‘Kakthet’ won an inaugural co-production fund run by Humans of Cinema and Safarnaama Pictures.
The Ladakhi-language debut feature is set in the remote high-altitude region of Ladakh.
It follows a government school and its community, whose future depends on a reluctant grade 10 student who has never passed an exam.
The fund provides 40 lakh rupees to support the film’s co-production.
It was chosen from nearly 400 entries, and filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj and director Shaunak Sen are attached as mentors; Sen is also an executive producer.
The project had previously won a grant at WAVES Film Bazaar in 2025 and was selected for the 2026 Asian Project Market, but no production schedule is stated.
Stenzin Tankyong’s Ladakhi-language debut feature “Kakthet” has won the inaugural co-production fund run by Humans of Cinema and Safarnaama Pictures.
The fund awards INR40 lakh, or $42,000, and selected the film from nearly 400 entries.
Set in Ladakh, the film follows a government school and community whose future depends on a reluctant grade 10 student.
Filmmakers Vishal Bhardwaj and Shaunak Sen are attached as mentors, and Sen is also an executive producer.
- Who
- Filmmaker Stenzin Tankyong’s “Kakthet” won the fund.
- What
- The film won the inaugural feature film co-production fund, which awards INR40 lakh ($42,000).
- When
- The selection was reported on October 28, 2026.
- Where
- The film is set in Ladakh. The fund is run by Humans of Cinema and Safarnaama Pictures.
- Why
- Not stated
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Kakthet” won the Co-Production Features Grant at WAVES Film Bazaar.
The project was selected as one of 30 projects for the Asian Project Market, held alongside the Busan International Film Festival.
Kakthet” was announced as the winner of the inaugural co-production fund.
- Film
- Kakthet” (Idiot)
- Director
- Stenzin Tankyong
- Setting
- Ladakh
- Fund award
- INR40 lakh ($42,000)
- Entries considered
- Nearly 400
- Producers
- Ritu Sarin, Rajesh Thanickan and French co-producers La Belle Affaire Productions
What people are saying
We were pleasantly surprised by the sheer number of brilliant projects we received from across the country, and we’re even more convinced how desperately initiatives like these are needed in South Asia right now.
Stories like ‘Kakthet’ remind us why it is important to create opportunities for voices that emerge from outside the mainstream.
The ‘Kakthet’ script mobilizes lightness, absurdity and humor to tell the story of a slow lamentation underwriting several lives in Ladakh.