Hansal Mehta-backed Birds in the Dark to premiere at Busan International Film Festival 2026
Birds in the Dark (Hanere De Panchi), written, cinematographed, and directed by Shashank Walia, will have its World Premiere in the Vision section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), running October 6–15, 2026.
Set in rural Punjab, Birds In The Dark is a narrative Punjabi film shot in black and white and also featuring dialects of Punjabi, Kashmiri and Urdu. Produced by Reema Kaur for Two Black Squares, and by Hansal Mehta and Sahil Saigal for True Story Films, this intersectional film takes you through various thematics across gender, caste, and class.
In line with Busan International Film Festival (BIFF)’s Vision section, Birds In The Dark (Hanere De Panchi) celebrates the independent spirit of Asian cinema, putting a spotlight on bold and personal storytelling of South Asian filmography.
On the film’s official selection, Director-Writer-Cinematographer Shashank Walia says, “Birds in the Dark emerges from the people and returns to them. This film was born from a desire to understand one another through mutual aid, care, and solidarity. It is in these acts that we discover what connects us, what is worth fighting for, and, ultimately, what sustains us; love.”
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Reema Kaur, who also served as the editor for this black and white narrative fiction as well as the Producer, reveals, “This film is our sincere attempt to portray the quiet, mundane rhythms of everyday life, and the resilience that lives within them. Living alongside the community, listening to their stories, and working with them to bring this story forth, we discovered the power of the collective. It has been a deeply humbling journey.
”This is my 3rd film at Busan (Aligarh and Omerta as Director), and I couldn’t be prouder making my debut as a producer at Busan with Shashank’s exquisitely meditative painting on gender, labour, justice and love,” states Producer Hansal Mehta.
“True Story Films has always looked to back distinct, director-driven voices alongside our mainstream work. Birds in the Dark (Hanere De Panchi) belongs on a stage like Busan, and we’re proud to bring it there,” adds Producer Sahil Saigal.
Founded in 1996, the Busan International Film Festival is Korea’s first film festival and one of Asia’s most significant platforms for new cinema, serving as a cultural bridge between Asian filmmaking and the world.
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