Punjabi feature Birds in the Dark has won the Songwon Vision Audience Award - Asia at the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), marking a significant milestone for filmmaker Shashank Walia’s debut feature. The film received the honour after its world premiere in the festival's Vision section, which showcases independent and distinctive voices in Asian cinema.

Birds in the Dark wins audience award at Busan

Written, cinematographed and directed by Walia, the black-and-white film is set in rural Punjab and explores themes of gender, caste, class, labour, justice and love. The film stars Mauli Singh, Sapna Das, Harwinder Singh Aujila, Navdeep Bajwa and Shahnawaz Bhat.