14th Chennai International Documentaries and Short Film Festival 2026
19-28 February, Chennai
Organised by MARUPAKKAM 30
Official Selection Process: The forte of our film festival is we give the most importance and commitment to the shortlisting of films to be screened at our screenings. We include a wide range of individuals who can contribute with their distinctive inputs in the selection of films. We ensure the final list does not support any form of hatred and fake propaganda. We also use this opportunity to introduce new forms of films and arguments showing respect to the time, energy, intelligence, sensibility and perspectives of the audience members in Chennai.
Our film festival is a lucky platform for the first time filmmakers who show promise, curiosity and courage in their creation. Many young and new directors had shown their first films at our film festival and had progressed well in their careers, later taking part in renowned film festivals around the globe. Many individuals (who later became filmmakers) had watched documentaries and short films at our editions and got inspired and motivated to venture into the field of filmmaking.
We are very proud of playing a small role in their journey.
This time we received 250 films through Filmfreeway platform from across the world and our selection committee toiled meticulously to finalise the list of 100 films to be shown at our film festival.
We generally do not give any inputs to the Selection Committee as we believe in the uniqueness of each and every member who belongs to different professions and social backgrounds. This time too we requested them to rely on their worldview while selecting the films.
We thank them all!
The Selection Committee
Vinod Raja, filmmaker
Prof Punitha Dorairajan, academician
Dr.D.Punitha is the Head and Associate Professor of the Post Graduate Department of Communication at the Women’s Christian College, Chennai. She is also the DEAN, CENTRE FOR WOMEN'S STUDIES AT WCC. She has twenty six years of teaching experience as well as three years of industry experience. Her doctoral thesis is on the Political economy of Entertainment Television. She has been part of the curriculum revision committee for Journalism and Communication. Nominated by the University of Madras, She is a member of the Board of Studies in various colleges in the city. She has published chapters in books and presented papers in many national and international seminars and conferences. She has chaired several sessions in International and National Conferences across the Country.
She is a certified Factshala trainer. FactShala is a news and information literacy programme launched in India by Internews in collaboration with DataLEADS with support from Google.org and the Google News Initiative.
She has delivered invited Lectures on Films and Feminism, Gender and Caste, Media Economics and Media Research Methods.
She has been involved in Collaborative Research Projects.
She has been part of several documentary festivals.
She is also the External Expert of the Gender Sensitisation committee of the Madras High Court.
Nandalal, film society activist
Nandalal R. is a cultural activist and organizer based in Kerala, with significant contributions to the fields of cinema, language, and the environment.
Professional and Creative Background
• Film Society Movement: He is a key organizer of Open Frame Payyannur, one of Kerala's most vital film societies.
• Subtitling Expert: As part of the film society movement, he is actively involved in creating Malayalam subtitles for world cinema and has won an award for the same. Additionally, he has provided English subtitles for various films by acclaimed directors in Malayalam.
• • Official Recognition: He is a recipient of the State Government's Bhasha Puraskaram (Official Language Award) for his contributions to propagate Malayalam as the sole official language of Kerala.
• Profession: He serves as an official in the Department of Homeopathy.
Organizational Roles
• FFSI: Regional Council member of the Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI), Kerala Region.
• Editorial Work: Member of the editorial board of Drishyathalam, a renowned cinema magazinein Malayalam.
Literary and Environmental Contributions
• Writing: Was a regular contributor to leading periodicals like Mathrubhumi Weekly.
• Environmentalism: An active advocate for environmental and energy conservation.
• Human Rights Advocacy: He is an ardent activist for the abolition of the death penalty.
• Authorship: Co-author of the book Oorjam, Krishi, Vellam (Energy, Agriculture, Water), published by Thrissur Current Books.
• Public Speaking: He is a frequent speaker in Malayalam on diverse subjects including cinema, mother tongue (Malayalam), environment, and energy.
Ramdas Kadavallur, filmmaker
Ramdas Kadavallur is a filmmaker from Kerala, India. He started his career as a journalist and was a news reader in All India Radio, Delhi, for more than a decade since 2003. A postgraduate in Mathematics, he later completed his postgraduate diploma in Mass Communication.
His debut film, "Mannu: Sprouts of Endurance," which explores the land struggles, ecological, and environmental issues of the Western Ghats and the Pempilai Orumai movement that took place in Munnar in 2015, received widespread acclaim at numerous international film festivals.
"Mannu" was also selected to screen at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, as part of the 49th South Asian Conference, where it was one of three films chosen from South Asia. The film received a Special Jury Mention for Best Human Rights Film at the Nepal Cultural Film Festival and was officially selected for IDSFFK, organized by Kerala Chalachithra Academy. Additionally, it won the FFSI (Federation of Film Societies of India) Award for Best Documentary Film at the SiGNS film festival. His second feature-length documentary, "Beyond Hatred and Power, We Keep Singing," premiered at IDSFFK and received its international premiere at the Jaffna International Film Festival. His latest non fiction feature film ‘ Sathyappullu : The Magical Grass ‘, premiered in IDSFFK , also received special jury mention in SiGNS festival in the category of Cinema of Resistance.
A strong voice against human rights violations, his films have been widely screened in major film schools, including SRFTI, and organizations in India. He is also an invitee of film schools and writes articles about films in leading journals. He has conducted talks on films at universities and film schools. His films have been screened in major international venues in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the US.
Mitali Biswas, filmmaker
Mitali Biswas is an independent filmmaker and women’s rights activist with over three decades of sustained engagement in progressive social movements. Her body of work includes the co-directed documentary S.D.: Saroj Dutta and His Times (2018), which received the 12th John Abraham Award for Best Documentary at the SiGNS Film Festival, Kerala, and was showcased at several prominent documentary film festivals. She also directed Naam Poribortito (2015), a film that critically examines sexual violence against women and has been screened across diverse platforms and forums.
She serves on the editorial board of Samakaleen Protibidhan, a publication committed to documenting and advancing women’s movements. Over the past five years, she has conceptualized and spearheaded the “Calendar Canvas of Untold History,” an acclaimed annual calendar project, a collaborative art initiative that brings together numerous artists to foreground suppressed and marginalized histories from across India, and which has received wide recognition and appreciation across the country.
Chitrangada Choudhury, journalist & filmmaker
Jithin KC, film society activist & author
Jithin KC from Palakkad, is a prominent film critic and a film society activist. He had his Bachelor of Technology: Computer Science and Engineering from MEA Engineering College, under Calicut University and currently working at Union bank. He was awarded for the best article in television by the Kerala State Chalachithra Academy for the year 2020 and best article for films in the year 2021. He had been the executive editor of IFFK festival book for the years 2018 and 2019, hosted open form of IDSFFK by Kerala State Chalachithra Academy and translated many articles. He had written and published articles, interviews and translations in leading Malayalam Magazines such as Madhyamam weekly, Deshabhimani weekly, Deshabhimani Weekend, Chalachithra Sameeksha (Kerala State Chalachithra Academy Magazine ), Drushyathalam(FFSI Keralam Magazine ) and a columnist at online web portals like TheCue.in and Pratilipi. He is now successfully pursuing his passion for film studies and writing.
Senthil Kumaran, filmmaker
Harold Anthony Paulson, film society activist & filmmaker
Amudhan RP, filmmaker, Curator & teacher
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