21st IAWRT Asian Women's Film Festival 2026 | Day 2 - 14th March 2026

DAY 2 – Saturday, 14 March 2026

21st IAWRT Asian Women's Film Festival | C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium + Conference Room 1

The festival's most packed and eclectic day brings a special Focus on Central Asia, a major Masterclass, a Round Table Discussion on Film Pedagogy, and an extraordinary range of films from across the region.

The morning opens with Skyward / Gagan Gaman by Suruchi Sharma, Landscapes of Longing, and Denmo – Himalayan Brown Bear by Akanksha Sood Singh - all with filmmakers present for Q&A.

The day's centrepiece arrives at 11:15 AM: Oasis by Japanese director and editor Keiko Okawa (Japan, 2022), followed by a Masterclass with Reena Mohan in conversation with Keiko Okawa - an unmissable session on craft, the director's gaze, and the art of editing.

The afternoon is packed: Last Night I Dreamed It Was Raining Fish, Wake Up, We're Almost Home / Ghar Aayo (Shweta Rai), Loop Line / Dhhaavpatti by actor-filmmaker Renuka Shahane, Every Now and Then Girls / Avaar Navaar Chhoriyaan, and several more short films — all between 1:45 PM and 4:30 PM.

At 3:45 PM, the auditorium shifts focus with the Special Programme: Focus on Central Asia – Kazakhstan & Kyrgyz Republic, curated by Gulnara Abikeyeva and Gulbara Tolomushova, featuring seven films, including Little Love, The Burden We Bear, Blue Gate, and The Goldfish — a rare and powerful window into women's filmmaking from the region.

Conference Room 1 runs two programmes simultaneously: a Round Table Discussion on Film Pedagogy (2:00–4:30 PM) and a curated international showcase at 4:45 PM featuring Never Stand Down: The Quraishi Family (Elena Chang, USA), Eclipse / Sîtav (Dilan Toftik, Turkey), and After the Cat (Hoi Ying Chu, Hong Kong).

The evening ends with One Seed at a Time (Kavita Carneiro) and the headline feature Marriage Cops by Shashwati Talukdar and Cheryl Hess (India/Taiwan/USA, 1h 20m). This sharp and funny documentary has been the talk of the festival circuit.

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