Vanch Film Festival to Be Held February 19–22 at SRFTI, Kolkata and February 26–March 1 at NFDC, Mumbai

Founded by filmmaker Sapna Moti Bhavnani, India’s first and only horror/sci-fi/fantasy film festival, the Vanch Film Festival, returns with its sixth edition. The festival will screen 54 films, 33 of which are directed by women, once again highlighting a strong feminist perspective. The films will be showcased in three categories—Bloodthirsty (over 60 minutes), Dwarfs (10–40 minutes), and Elves (under 10 minutes).

The festival will open with the Indian premiere of The Red Mask by Ritesh Gupta, followed by a Q&A session. It will close with Mother of Flies, the Fantasia-winning feature by The Adams Family. Bhavnani’s latest short film, Landfills of Desire, which had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2025, will have its Asia premiere at Vanch. Shot on Dal Lake in Kashmir, the quiet, surreal, meditative horror short draws on Kashmiri folklore and features the character Rantas.

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Key Collaboration Milestone

For the first time, Vanch is collaborating with the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI). The festival will take place from February 19–22 at SRFTI, Kolkata, and from February 26–March 1 at NFDC, Mumbai.

Theme of Vanch 2026: The Hospital

The visual and conceptual theme for Vanch 2026 is “The Hospital.” Inspired by a difficult year faced by a Vanch team member who suffered a severe leg injury and prolonged hospitalization, the theme explores the limits of the body. The hospital is not presented as a place of healing, but as a space where interruption becomes inevitable—where the body asserts itself after prolonged strain.

This theme is dedicated to women who constantly push themselves in work, caregiving, and creative labor—often without pause—until the body demands rest. The 2026 poster and visual language reflect restraint, endurance, and forced stillness.

Vanch continues its collaboration with the Fantasia International Film Festival and is now partnering with Bloodstream for festival distribution.

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Distribution Partnership with Bloodstream

Recognizing the lack of distribution opportunities for indie cinema in India, Vanch Film Festival 2026 is partnering with Bloodstream, an independent platform supporting alternative and non-mainstream cinema. Select films from the festival will be considered for curated distribution opportunities, extending their life beyond the festival circuit. This reflects Vanch’s commitment to supporting filmmakers through visibility and access.

Bhavnani states: “Vanch has grown slowly, without a safety net. For a long time, it existed because of conviction rather than recognition. The support of institutions like NFDC and SRFTI feels like a quiet acknowledgment of years spent building something without a predefined structure or guarantees.”

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Program Highlights

• Indian and international short and feature films
• Dedicated sections for horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and hybrid genres
• Special focus on emerging talent
• Thematic programs on body, systems, memory, and transformation
• Filmmaker interactions and discussions
• India Focus Day with Q&A sessions
• Closing day dedicated to films made by women – Female Gaze
• First-ever SFX and Prosthetics masterclass by French artist Accurate Dream
• Introduction of an AI section titled Pixels and Possession
• 54 films — 20 from India, 9 from Asia, 33 directed by women.

Jury Members

For Bloodthirsty:

•  Abby Wright (Programmer, Fem Filth Festival), Kaizad Gustad (Writer/Filmmaker), Mo Moshaty (Editor, Night Tide Magazine/Producer).

For Dwarfs & Silver Méliès Award:

• Leila Taylor (Writer, Creative Director at Brooklyn Public Library), James McNally (Founder & Director, Shorts Not Pants FF), Sara Lopo (Programmer, MotelX/Fantastic Fest), Sultan Barodawala (Multidisciplinary Artist).

For Elves:

• Claire Donner (Director, Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, New York), Shannon Hammer (Producer, Toronto After Dark FF), Simon Laperrière (Film scholar and critic).

Institutional Collaborations

Vanch 2026 marks a significant milestone with NFDC joining as a partner for the first time, recognizing the festival’s curatorial vision in independent genre cinema. The partnership with SRFTI strengthens dialogue around film education and emerging filmmakers.

The festival continues collaboration with the French Embassy in India, Institut Français, and Alliance Française, supporting Indo-French cultural exchange and contemporary French cinema programming.

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Journey So Far

Since its first edition in 2021, Vanch has screened 188 films and honored 495 women. It is also a member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation. Now in its sixth edition, Vanch functions not only as a festival but as a cultural platform exploring how fear is constructed, who tells these stories, and why genre matters today.

The festival maintains a hybrid format of physical screenings, conversations, and industry engagement.

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About Wanch Film Festival

Vanch is an India-based genre festival dedicated to horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and speculative storytelling. It is known for its rigorous curation and focus on supporting filmmakers exploring new cinematic languages.

The festival remains committed to empowering women and non-binary voices across the creative economy—education, financing, community, and distribution.

About Sapna Bhavnani

Sapna Moti Bhavnani is known for her award-winning documentary Sindhustan (2019), which tells the story of the largest migration of a culture (Sindhi) through tattoos on her body. The film won 11 awards and screened at 23 international festivals. Her hybrid feature My Dog Is Sick premiered at the New Horizons International Festival in 2021. Her upcoming horror feature Barely Liked Man was selected at NAFF (Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival), making her the first Indian woman director to achieve this.

In July 2020, she launched her production company Vanch Films to empower women’s perspectives and subsequently founded Vanch Film Festival—India’s first horror film festival.

Masterclass: Beyond Cinema – The Specter of Bollywood
By Dr. Rik Sundar Banerjee
This session explores the transformation of Indian horror—from low-budget cult classics to high-concept supernatural epics. The genre is being redefined through folklore and psychological fear, moving beyond jump scares to explore haunted cultural identities.

Dr. Banerjee is a scholar, author, and filmmaker specializing in folklore and the supernatural. He has authored several acclaimed books and contributed to cinema as a screenwriter and director. He has presented research at the University of York, UK, on ghosts in machines and technology.

Blood and Budgets @ NFDC, Mumbai (Feb 28, 4:30 PM)
Masterclass by Aatish Shah
A producer-focused masterclass led by Aatish Shah, producer of The Red Mask, examining the realities of financing and producing genre films without guaranteed support. He will discuss the journey, challenges, and practical expectations of mounting bold genre cinema.

Aatish Shah is an award-winning producer and CEO of Create Entertainment in Los Angeles, known for projects including Remember Me, Brown Nation, and Money. His films have received global distribution and numerous awards.