Veham

Hassan Amin / HBO Short Film Competition / Pakistan / 2016 / 14 mins

After waking up in an obscure room with no memory, MUNTAZIR finds a letter and, following its instructions, sets off only to find himself lost in the middle of nowhere. He asks the mysterious JABBAR for directions who again pops up when Muntazir reaches his destination. The two develop an uncanny companionship with Muntazir opening up to his new friend. As more envelopes are delivered, Muntazir fights to regain his memory about where he is and who exactly is Jabbar.

Mantra

Nicholas Kharkongor / Feature Competition / India / 2016 / 90 mins

Kapil Kapoor, founded an iconic snack brand during the License Raj in India. Circa 2004, India is in throes of globalization and he is fighting a losing battle against a multinational that has taken over the market. Besides his company, he is desperately trying to save his wife and children who are battling crises of their own. For Kapil to hold onto things that are dear to him professionally and personally, he must confront and overcome demons of his own. Set in the midst of a nationwide India Shining campaign, Mantra tells the story of a family and its travails, and a sprawling and changing rapidly India.

Riff Raff

Ahmed Arif / HBO Short Film Competition / Pakistan / 2016 / 15 mins

One evening in upper-middle-class Karachi, a forty-year-old man maneuvers between the deceptive allure of his social scene, and the reality he has at home...

Maroon

Pulkit / Feature Competition / India / 2016 / 92 mins

When an insomniac university professor’s wife goes missing, he slowly becomes delusional in his attempt to cope and his interaction with the outside world gradually enters a different plane of reality.

Lens

Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan / Spectrum / India / 2016 / 109 mins

Aravind gets a friend request from ‘Nikky,’ a complete stranger. He accepts it and they begin to video-chat. But the new friend has a bizarre request: to commit suicide while Aravind watches live. Does Aravind have a choice?

Autohead

Rohit Mittal / Feature Competition / India / 2016 / 98 mins

A documentary crew follows a notorious auto rickshaw driver in the suburbs of Mumbai. As they dig deeper in his life they discover angst, sexual frustration and paranoia. This changes the course of their film. It also depicts the voyeurism of the crew in the process and leads to a terrible end.

Fri Afterparty @ DL (9:30PM)

Revelations

Vijay Jayapal / Feature Competition / India / 2016 / 118 mins

A young Tamil woman, grappling with unknown tensions in her four year long marriage, develops a complex relationship with her new neighbor, a middle-aged man, who has a mysterious past of his own. This relationship soon begins to unravel many secrets, which change their lives forever. Set in the fascinating city of Kolkata, the film tries to explore themes such as guilt, redemption and female sexuality in the context of an Indian marriage.