Wench Film Festival: Shruti Haasan’s Thriller "The Eye" to Open the Fifth Wench Film Festival

By Shantishwarup Tripathi

Wench Film Festival: Every year, numerous national and international film festivals take place around the world. Around five years ago, Sapna Bhavnani started India’s first horror film festival, Wench Festival, focusing on horror films. This year, the fifth edition of the festival, which will feature 42 films, including those by LGBTQ+ women and non-binary filmmakers, will be held from February 27 to March 2 in Kolkata. This will be the festival’s third physical edition. With this edition, the festival aims to highlight the female perspective by screening 35 films made by female filmmakers out of the 42 films.

Wench Film Fest: India’s First Horror & Sci-Fi Fest

The Wench Film Festival is India’s first horror, sci-fi, and fantasy film festival, dedicated to showcasing films by LGBTQ+ women and non-binary filmmakers. Since its inaugural edition in 2021, the festival has screened 146 films and spotlighted 352 women filmmakers. While Wench primarily prioritizes films directed by women and non-binary filmmakers, it also has a special category for male filmmakers who have directed films with a central female storyline or a prominent female head of department (HOD).

In 2024, Wench took a major leap in genre films by carefully selecting 29 films, taking its audience to unknown worlds. For 2025, the festival has expanded its selection to 42 films, with added screening locations. The festival will be held across three venues in two cities—Mumbai and Kolkata—and will feature 42 films, 35 of which are directed by women. The festival will also showcase a remarkable collaboration with the Fantasia Film Festival and Imagine Fantastic Film Festival.

The Wench Film Festival continues to be a key pillar in the Wench Blueprint, committed to empowering the voices of women and non-binary individuals with support across the entire value chain of the producer economy—education, funding, community, and distribution.

The fifth edition of the festival will kick off with the Indian premiere of the British psychological thriller The Eye, directed by Daphne Moon and starring Shruti Haasan and Mark Rowley. The festival will conclude with the screening of the IFFR-winning feature Schirkoa-In Lies We Trust, directed by Ishaan Shukla.

This year, Wench has partnered with top genre festivals like Fantasia and Imagine Fantastic Film Festival. The Oscar-nominated short film I Am Not a Robot is part of the Fantasia x Wench collaboration. As part of its expansion, the Kolkata edition of the festival will be held at the Skinny Mo Jazz Club on March 2. The festival will have two main venues: Veda Kunba (February 27 - March 2) and Theosophy Hall, Alliance Francaise (February 28).

Films will be showcased in three different categories: Bloodthirsty (60 minutes or more), Dwarfs (10-40 minutes), and Elves (less than 10 minutes), with awards given in each section. The jury for the three categories includes Chris Orgelt and Harini Lakshminarayan (Bloodthirsty), Aruna Rajee Patil (Dwarfs), and Caroline Morissette (Elves).

A major highlight of the festival is the launch of Terror Talkies, India’s first horror/science-fiction publication, along with a masterclass hosted by Dr. Riksundar Banerjee and Vishal Furia. On March 1, Veda Kunba will also host India Focus Day, featuring five intriguing films, physical screenings, art installations, and masterclasses.

Sapna Bhavnani, the founder of Wench Film Festival, is well-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. Sindhustan won 11 awards and traveled to 23 international festivals and is currently streaming on Moviesents. Her second hybrid feature My Dog IS Sick was an official selection at the prestigious Vision Du Reel Film Market and World Premiere at the New Horizons International Festival in 2021. Sapna’s next horror feature Bearlike Man was officially selected by Bukon International Fantastic Film Festival 2021, making her the first Indian female director to be chosen for the BIFAN genre market in 2022. She was also selected as an official instructor at the Fantastic Film School at BIFAN in 2022.

In July 2020, Sapna launched Wench Films, a production company dedicated to empowering the female perspective. With this vision, she founded Wench Film Festival, India’s first horror film festival. Since its first edition in 2021, Wench has screened 146 films and spotlighted 352 women filmmakers. In October 2024, Sapna launched India’s first Zombiecon.

Currently, she is writing the screenplay for Bearlike Man and developing a hybrid feature called Wolf Song, which tells the inspiring story of a young woman suffering from hypertrichosis (commonly known as werewolf syndrome) and her journey to become a singer despite family and social challenges. Wolf Song has been selected as a finalist at Sitges 2024 in the Women in Fan section.

This year’s festival will feature 13 Indian premieres, 25 Asia premieres, and 3 world premieres, with 7 Indian films and 35 international films. Sapna Bhavnani, the founder of the Wench Film Festival, says, “The Wench Film Festival 2025 is not only bigger but bolder, bloodier, and breaking more glass ceilings. With the launch of Terror Talkies—India’s first horror publication, world-renowned horror masterclasses, the best genre films from India, and experiences that push all boundaries, fear has never felt this good!”

Wench Film Festival Schedule

• February 27: Opening Film – Indian Premiere of The Eye starring Shruti Haasan, followed by a Q&A session.
• February 28: Physical Screenings at Veda Kunba.
• February 28: Physical Screenings at Theosophy Hall, Alliance Francaise.
• March 1: India Focus Day at Veda Kunba, featuring 5 films, physical screenings, performances, and panel discussions.
• March 2: Closing Film –  Schirkoa- In Lies We Trust Indian Premiere in Mumbai, followed by a director’s Q&A and screening at Veda Kunba.
• March 2: Screening in Kolkata at Skinny Mo’s Jazz Club, followed by a lecture by Dr. Banerjee.

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