31 May,2026 09:32 AM IST | Mumbai | Akshita Maheshwari
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been dubbed the queen of Cannes. PIC/INSTAGRAM@amitaggarwalofficial
All We Imagine As Light made history in 2024 by winning the Grand Prix (the second-highest honour) at the Cannes Film Festival. It was the first time an Indian film had made it that far. But could you name which film even went to the festival this year? Only two films could make the cut: Shadows of the Moonless Nights (directed by Mehar Malhotra, a student at FTII, Pune), in the La Cinef competition; and then, Amma Ariyan (directed by John Abraham), a 1986 Malayalam newly restored in 4K in the Cannes Classics section.
The names of celebrities and influencers who went to the event, on the other hand, come to mind easily. Alia Bhatt stuns in Tamara Ralph and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - who is now dubbed the queen of Cannes - shows up in Amit Aggarwal. Why is it that the celeb appearances, and the designers who dress them, are more memorable at film festivals than the films? And are film festivals even relevant to filmmakers anymore?
Alia Bhatt in Tamara Ralph at Cannes Film Festival 2026. PIC/INSTAGRAM@ALIABHATT
In 2024, Shuchi Talati's Girls Will Be Girls became the first Indian film to win the John Cassavetes Award - widely known as the Oscar of independent cinema - at Independent Spirit Awards. Before that, it was screened at Sundance Film Festival, where it won two awards.
"If a film is planning to go to festivals, you first apply for the big five - Cannes, Sundance, Berlin, Venice, Toronto. These will help your film pick up the most publicity and buyer, which independent films really need," Talati says, "But at the same time, they're very competitive. Sundance, for example, receives about 4000 feature film entries, and they end up programming around 10 in the international section and 10 in the US section, and then a certain amount in some of the other sections."
Shuchi Talati's Girls Will Be Girls follows a 16-year-old who experiences a sexual awakening and first love
Just because the big five exist, doesn't mean that other film festivals aren't important. "They are a really important way for films to reach audiences. A lot of my films have played widely at South Asian and Asian American festivals in the US. This is where the audience you made this film for, gathers," says Talati. Some popular names include the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, Tasveer in Seattle, Indie Meme in Austin, CAAMFest in San Francisco. "I attended many of these with Girls Will Be Girls, and these were some of my favourite experiences, as was bringing the film to MAMI [festival]. Since they're festivals for the Indian diaspora, I got to meet the people I made the film for. Unfortunately, these festivals are not often attended by buyers."
Even though most independent films struggle to find distribution in India, for Talati, Sundance did help with bringing international distribution. "In India, the film had wide distribution because it was acquired by Amazon Prime Video," she says, "It also had big distribution in France, which has the infrastructure to support independent arthouse cinema. There's a chain of arthouse theatres across the country, even in really small towns, with dedicated audiences who are willing to go watch a film from India by an unknown director. And so, my film opened in just under 200 theatres over the course of three weeks."
Snigdha Roy's Aakuti follows an eight-year-old girl haunted by her mother's loss
Director Snigdha P Roy and her sister Tanuja Roy put together their resources to fund her film Aakuti. The Assamese movie follows Lakhi (Kavisha Mahanta), an eight-year-old girl haunted by her mother's loss. Her father helps her navigate this journey even as he grapples with the devastating loss of his wife.
As soon as Roy wrapped up the film, she knew she wanted a festival run. "I'm hoping to get better visibility and connections," she says, "For an ethnic film like mine, it's difficult to reach an audience beyond Assam, or even within the country. So when it gets selected at a festival, I know that people from different regions and cultures are coming together to watch the film. That exposure is what the film needs."
Harshit Bansal and Shuchi Talati. Pic/shuchitalati.com
Aakuti just premiered at the New York Indian Film Festival on Saturday. "The distribution and sales side of making a film is tougher to handle. A strong festival run gives the film market value and credibility, which can help secure better deals," Roy says, "I can't personally go everywhere and meet people to pitch my film. But if buyers watch it at a festival and there's good buzz around it, I think a bit of the job is done. There are chances that OTT platforms will approach you. If your film does very, very well, it also gives you negotiating power with distributors."
Strategically deciding which festival you go to is also important. "Sometimes people end up submitting to 200 festivals and get rejected by more than half of them. The film isn't necessarily bad, it's just that the premise doesn't align with the festival," Roy says, "I did a study of previous editions of various festivals, - what kinds of films they programme - and that's how I went about it. NYIFF's films are rooted in India; rural settings, not purely commercial. That felt quite right for this film."
Snigdha Roy and Shiladitya Bora
Harshit Bansal, or @humansofcinema on Instagram, says that red carpet coverage is nothing new. "Even 20 years ago, when I was a kid reading newspapers, Cannes coverage mainly used to be about the red carpet moments."
As the industry enters a financial crunch, the red carpet appearances are what keep the eyeballs on festivals. "They have merged cinema with glamour, and it has helped them in turning festivals into global events. Otherwise, it's possible they wouldn't have become as big as they are today," Bansal says, "But while the rest of the world places equal focus on fashion and cinema, in India, there is a huge imbalance. Eighty per cent of focus is on fashion, celebrity, influencer content, and only 20 per cent focus is on films."
Independent producer and distributor Shiladitya Bora says the industry is in a tough time. "Even at Cannes [film festival] this year, the attendance and sponsorships are not what they used to be. It's almost like, if earlier 100 people came, now maybe 70 come. There is no American representation either. Deals are fewer, budgets are shrinking, but costs keep going up." "But for me personally," he adds, "solid leads have developed that I think will materialise going forward."
Alongside the Cannes Film festival takes place the Marché du Film, the largest film market in the world. Often, the festival and market are confused for each other. "There is also a lot of noise," Bora says, "In sections of the market where there is no selection criteria, anyone who can pay can show up. Sometimes, when a film that hasn't found any takers in India is being taken to the Cannes market at great expense, I wonder what the objective really is."
Lack of information around both the festival and market mean missed opportunities for filmmakers. "What happens is that most of the meeting slots get filled up very early. If we want to have a fruitful outcome, we have to plan way in advance. But if we do things at the end moment, we miss deadlines," Bora says, "Also, most Indian films fall into the drama genre. There are not many takers and buyers for drama films right now. The world is moving more towards genre films and horror."
It's also important to know which festival is meant for your film. "Most American festivals - Sundance, TIFF, Tribeca - are more audience-friendly. European festivals are more intimate, arthouse type."
Bora notes that even mainstream production houses have shown interest in producing festival films in the last couple of years. "Both Homebound (2025), which went to Cannes, and Kill (2023), which premiered at TIFF, were backed by Dharma Productions," he notes, "Prestige has become an important currency for mainstream banners as well."
Bansal ends on this note, "As soon as your film is in competition, automatically everyone knows this is a promising film. The chances of finding collaborators increases. Do not look at festivals as just for prestige. Look at them as an ecosystem where you can take your film to the next level, even in terms of revenue."
More Indian films at Cannes, please!
Harshit Bansal of @humansofcinema is tired of the dearth of Indian films at Cannes. Last week, he took it upon himself to solve this problem. He announced on Instagram that next year, he will take three filmmakers to Marché du Film, covering all major costs. "I have received a lot of messages from patrons in the industry, who want to sponsor filmmakers, but no brands have reached out yet," Bansal says.
He thinks it'll take him around '5 lakh per filmmaker to take them to Cannes. "'5 lakh is not a small amount, but if there are people who have that kind of capital and also have genuine passion for cinema and want to push Indian filmmaking forward, something like this can really massively help the Indian filmmaking ecosystem."
