International Women’s Day Film Festival, Thrissur
Organised by International Folklore Film Festival of Kerala
& MARUPAKKAM 30
Curated by Amudhan RP
30,31 March 2026
Schedule (about to get the consent from the filmmakers)
10 am to 1 pm
10 am : Inauguration
10.30 am
All that we Own
Dir: Aprajita Gupta; 29:00 min; Documentary; India
When a woman leaves her natal home, what does she carry with her and what gets left behind? The filmmaker attempts to create a portrait of her mother born to a migrant lineage in Nagaland, India and leads us into an inner landscape of displacement and forgetting. For mum, is visiting her natal home a promise of rootedness or a reminder that belonging is a question still? The film is about inheritance, loss, identity and migration. Through objects, photographs and her grandmother's song, the filmmaker intimately searches for markers of displacement in her maternal lineage and creates an image of continuity.
Bali
Dir: Amoli Birewar; 25:45 min; Documentary; India
In a small village in Maharashtra, Sujata, a young girl from the Banjara tribe, is at that fleeting age when anything feels possible. She dreams of becoming a kabaddi player, inspired by the movies she loves. But as her school years come to an end, she is pushed toward a forced marriage, like generations of women before her. A district-level tournament becomes her last chance to change her future. As she steps onto the Kabaddi court, Sujata slips into a Bollywood-tinted dream, momentarily becoming the hero of her own story.
'Bali' is a bittersweet portrait of growing up in rural India. In a culture where grief and pain are rarely articulated, the film explores how young girls like Sujata cope with hardship through humour, escapism, and quiet resilience.
On Melting Snow
Dir: Mojtaba Bahadori; 1:13:00 min; Documentary; Belgium, Iceland
Each landscape reflects a memory of our planet, memories that have been cruelly divided by time and man-made political borders. For the past 33 years, Sophie Cauvin has been on a journey to engage with these transformed landscapes, collecting and reuniting these fragmented memories, and immortalizing them in her astonishing art creations.
Amad's Dream
Dir: Aashish Kiphayet; 9:30 min; Documentary; United States
Amad Mahbub is a Bangladeshi woman who left Bangladesh to escape social oppression and pursue education in neuroscience in the United States. The documentary tells the story of her resilience and transformation, as well as her connection to Henna and Kathak dance, spirituality, and activism. Through henna art, she navigates her Bangladeshi identity and resists women's oppression. Most importantly, we will see how her journey transforms her into an artist and uses henna art to stand with her homeland while she is in exile, especially in the time of the 2024 uprising in Bangladesh that ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The film illustrates how the US diaspora contributed to the July uprising in Bangladesh last year.
Puzzleak, The Rape Palace
Dir: Kote Camacho, Anonymous; 15:00 min; Documentary; Spain
Upon discovering nude photos of her as a child on the internet, Ane remembers moments she had erased from her mind. She was also video-taped, secretly like many other, during the sessions by a protected famous photographer from San Sebastián.
Dongar/Pani (Land/Water)
Dir: Sanjivani Kamble; 24:53 min; Short fiction; India
When Savi decides to leave behind the chaos of Bombay for a new job in Alibaug, her roommate Anu is left navigating the quiet storm of unspoken emotions. What begins as a simple farewell unfolds into a tender, introspective journey about love, and a friendship at the brink of change. It is a bittersweet coming-of-age story that explores the quiet ache of growing up, the choices we must make, and the bonds that shape us, even when they slip through our fingers.
2 pm to 6 pm
Zero Bulb
Dir: Soham Prasad Bhende; 17:42 min; Short fiction; India
Zero Bulb unfolds on a Kojagiri night in a small Goan village, where Sudha, an elderly widow, and Tarka, her reserved daughter-in-law, find themselves sharing space and conversation for the first time in years. Surrounded by flickering household bulbs and the sounds of village Kojagiri festivities, the two women reflect on their lives.
DVAND
Dir: SANDEEP SINGH; 19:30 min; Short fiction; India
Radhika a 28-year-old woman, grapples with guilt after committing female foeticide, battling suicidal thoughts amidst familial pressure. As she confronts her internalized misogyny, Radhika finds the courage to break free from her toxic family, embarking on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment.
Gingerbread for her dad
Dir: Alina Mustafina; 1:16:30 min; Documentary; Kazakhstan
85-year-old Lyabiba doesn’t remember her father, who died in World War II. At that time, along with the death notice, some Soviet soldiers’ widows were given 'consolation' gingerbread cookies for their children. The only memory Lyabiba has of her father is the time she joyfully shouted to the entire village during the years of hunger: 'My dad died, and we got gingerbread cookies!
Mozart's Sister
Dir: Madeleine Hetherton-Miau; 1:30:00 min; Documentary; Australia
What is the lost story of 'the other Mozart'? A new feature documentary investigates a 250 year old musical mystery.
Maria-Anna Mozart was, like her younger brother, a child prodigy. Together the children toured much of Europe performing as “wunderkinder” to European royalty. As a little girl she could perform, but as a woman she retired, never to play in public again. But she did not give up. Tantalising clues exist of her continued virtuosic playing - and even her attempts to compose. Mozart’s Sister explores the fascinating theory that Maria-Anna Mozart played a larger role than previously known - and turns our gaze to unrecognised female creators of our time. Why are there still so few female composers?
30 March 2026
10 am to 1 pm
Selection
Dir: Sanjivani Kamble; 24:53 min; Short fiction; India
When Savi decides to leave behind the chaos of Bombay for a new job in Alibaug, her roommate Anu is left navigating the quiet storm of unspoken emotions. What begins as a simple farewell unfolds into a tender, introspective journey about love, and a friendship at the brink of change. It is a bittersweet coming-of-age story that explores the quiet ache of growing up, the choices we must make, and the bonds that shape us, even when they slip through our fingers.
Unwritten Verses
Dir: Fathima Shanaz; 11:58 min; Short Fiction; Sri Lanka
Fathima, a 25 year old woman, seeks a divorce through the Quazi court. Her journey to obtain justice becomes challenging as she faces procedural delays, lack of support, and emotional hardship. The film follows her experiences within the system, highlighting the struggles many women encounter while trying to secure their rights. Fathima portrays one woman’s effort to find fairness and independence within the existing legal and social framework.
Monologue
Dir: Danae MOSSMAN; 13:25 min; Short Fiction; New Zealand
Mary has been ejected from her affluent marriage and stripped of her role as mother. Home alone on New Year’s Eve in the elegant apartment to which she has been exiled, her mind whirs, the psychic rubble of her privileged life threatens to overwhelm her. Tomorrow she will meet with her husband to discuss the terms of their unfolding divorce and the custody of their son – a battle that he is destined to win. Freely adapted from Simone de Beauvoir's novella Monologue (1968)
Beneath the Veil
Dir: Hareem Fatima; 21:58 min; Short Fiction; United Kingdom
Aaliyah, a British-Pakistani pornographer navigates through sexuality, her relationship, and hate from her audience. It explores the control Aaliyah feels over her body autonomy, and how porn may affect this.
The film discovers attitudes towards women in Pakistan, and how this heritage affected Aaliyah’s upbringing - contributing to the very porn she currently creates.
Your Life Without Me
Dir: Anna Rubi; 1:12:00 min; Documentary; Hungary
Magdi, a strong-willed, but lonely caregiver faces a daunting reality as she grows older: If she were to pass away, her disabled adult son, Feri would be left to the inhumane conditions of the Hungarian state care system, and would quickly follow her. Determined to secure a future for Feri, Magdi unites with a group of mothers who are in the same situation and they take legal action against the state. “Your Life Without Me” is a story of the strength and sacrifices of these women who find their own voice through the common fight and their community.
Metacíclica
Dir: Lydia Zimmermann; 17:56 min; Documentary; Spain
METACYCLICAL is a neologism for six actresses who are beyond the rules. Despite their experience, no one offers them leading roles.
2 pm to 6 pm
GEOMETRY OF RETURN
Dir: Nataliya Bek-Gergard; 8:53 min; Documentary; Canada, Ukraine
In a time when war shows no sign of ending and her town by the sea remains occupied, Svitlana realizes she may never return home. Holding onto happy memories, she finds a quiet thread to healing that ties together all she’s lost and still longs for.
Hot Mess Express
Dir: Chao Niu; 16:00 min; Documentary; China
Between the sweeping away of the old year and the tentative steps of the new, a square dancing audition was held in a small town in the Northeastern Province for the upcoming Spring Festival. A crowd of senior dancers took the stage.
Among them was Lao Gu, 65 years old, a woman constantly belittled by her husband but firmly convinced that her dancing skills were of the finest quality—charming enough to lure birds from the trees.
A Good Wife
Dir: Anuradha Bansal; 1:30:00 min; Documentary; India
A Good Wife’ is a deeply personal exploration of womanhood, marriage, and freedom within an Indian Marwari Hindu community. As the filmmaker navigates questioning the establishment of marriage in her own setup, she confronts the rigid ideals of a ‘virtuous wife’ imposed by family and tradition. Through intimate filmmaking, she challenges these expectations, exposing contradictions and seeking personal liberation. This film is her attempt to reclaim agency, question inherited beliefs, and spark dialogue on autonomy and identity.
Like a Novel (Roman Gibi)
Dir: TAYFUN BELET; 1:02:38 min; Documentary; Turkey
Starting their life of love and struggle in Thessaloniki, Sabiha and Zekeriya Sertel were two journalists who fought for freedom during Turkey’s turbulent times. After Sabiha’s death, her family kept her existence a secret. Her niece, Nur Deriş, discovers Sabiha’s story through the book Like a Novel. Like a Novel is a poignant journey tracing a silenced generation and a denied era.
We'll Carry On Alright
Dir: Megan Rossman; 11:52 min; Documentary
This film focuses on the friendship between Mabel Hampton, an African American, lesbian, and activist, and Joan Nestle, a white, lesbian and Jewish professor who is 40 years her junior. Ms. Hampton cared for Joan as a child, and roles reversed when Joan cared for Ms. Hampton at the end of her life.
Bitter Honey
Dir: Julia Andreevna Makarova; 26:32 min; Documentary; Russian Federation
After their father passes away, the Skuratov sisters try to preserve the family business - the bee apiary. But it is not so easy to let go of the experience of loss after the recent passing of a loved one.
5.30 pm : Closing remarks
