Indian cinema boasts a history going back over 100 years, far surpassing the familiar confines of Bollywood productions. Since the debut of «Raja Harishchandra» in 1913, a diverse filmic heritage has evolved. The mainstream film industries, which include Bollywood, incorporated music and dance to appeal to a broad audience, creating their own unique genre of musical melodrama. Their focus on music drew from the classical musical traditions of India and folk theatre. At the same time, an independent film scene and avant-garde cinema emerged. These works draw more from the rich philosophy and theory of Indian aesthetics, emphasising deep, artistically demanding explorations of themes and styles.
The movement often referred to as the Indian New Wave connects to the tradition of Parallel Cinema from the 1960s and 1970s. Directors like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, and Ritwik Ghatak laid the groundwork for socially critical and formally experimental films. The Indian New Wave introduced a radical departure from conventional storytelling patterns. One of its pioneers, Mani Kaul, developed minimalist, almost meditative forms. His style, influenced by European auteurs, avoided common dramaturgical conventions in favour of contemplative visual compositions, developing a unique film language aimed at distinguishing itself from the Western gaze. Kaul’s radical approach paved the way for newer generations of filmmakers, including Amit Dutta, whose work translates traditional Indian art forms, such as miniature paintings, into cinema. Dutta’s films blend painting, music, and literature to create a cinematic experience that is both intellectual and sensory. In this context of innovation and cultural exploration, government institutions such as the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), the Films Division of India (FD), and the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) played a pivotal role. By providing a platform and resources, these institutions helped documentarians and filmmakers to experiment with their craft and narratives and to explore complex themes, thereby contributing significantly to the rich tapestry of Indian cinema. The NFDC played a key role in the Parallel Cinema movement of the 1980s, which gained prominence as the mainstream Indian film industry struggled with the star system crisis and declining theatre attendance due to the rise of home video. With the government-owned Doordarshan (DD) broadcasting socially relevant films, Parallel Cinema flourished, launching the careers of art-house directors and actors who later made a mark in international cinema.
Parallel Cinema in India had two prominent strands: one influenced by filmmakers like Jean Renoir and Roberto Rossellini and exemplified by Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, and Bimal Roy, which focused on India’s socio-economic issues. The other, the Indian New Wave or avant-garde, emerged from Ritwik Ghatak’s students at the FTII. Ghatak favoured melodrama over realism, while his students, inspired by Robert Bresson, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Bertolt Brecht, sought a new language for Indian cinema. This intellectual approach to cinema led to debates (with Satyajit Ray famously disapproving of such «esoteric» filmmaking) and two separate prominent schools of non-mainstream cinema – the Indian New Wave (avant-garde) and the Parallel Cinema movement (social realism).
Recently, Payal Kapadia has boosted contemporary Indian filmmaking into the global limelight. Her short films, celebrated for their artistic innovation, have been shown at prestigious festivals such as Cannes and the Berlinale, affirming the continued relevance of the Indian New Wave. Her documentary «A Night of Knowing Nothing» won the Golden Eye for Best Documentary at Cannes in 2021, and she went on to win the festival’s Grand Prix in 2024, becoming the first Indian recipient of this award. This success highlights the role of state-run film institutes like the Films and Television Institute of India in promoting independent cinematic voices and advancing Indian avant-garde cinema.
Short films are not only a vital medium for free creative expression but also an essential component of the alumni system in Indian film schools, which supports the production of short films. These films vividly demonstrate how a new generation is adopting and advancing the artistic approaches pioneered by Indian New Wave filmmakers like Mani Kaul, setting them within a global context apart from Bollywood and other dominant trends. Short films thus add a dimension to Indian cinema where experimental narratives, profound societal discourse, and the influence of diverse cultures converge. It is crucial to support and promote these developments, as they not only enrich cultural exchange but also address significant societal and political issues that resonate universally. Recognizing and integrating these complex perspectives into our cultural narratives is essential for fostering a truly global society based on understanding, respect, and shared humanitarian values. Given Indian cinema’s worldwide impact, Kurzfilmtage aims to showcase the rich complexity of cinematic expression from this immensely diverse country, which boasts an ancient civilization with its own history of arts and aesthetics.
Indian cinema today unfolds as a space of artistic resistance and renewal, where personal memory and collective myth, quiet grief and surreal absurdity, economic struggle and spiritual longing collide. The contemporary short films presented in our programmes reflect a country in motion, shaped by its ancient heritage as much as by the tensions of rapid urbanization and widening inequality. Amidst the shimmer of modernity, they bear witness to those left at its margins – migrant workers, women, queer voices, the rural poor –, offering narratives that resist erasure through poetic and often radical cinematic forms. Far from Bollywood’s spectacle, this is cinema that questions, listens, remembers. By embracing contradiction and ambiguity, it opens a space for new imaginaries – intimate, political, and profoundly human. Engaging with these films means opening ourselves to other realities and listening to voices that are too often unheard.
Curated by Iyesha Geeth Abbas, John Canciani, Lea Heuer, and Delphine Jeanneret
The Only Way Is UpSince the 1990s, India has been seen as an economic wunderkind, with market liberalization, a booming IT sector, and industrial expansion driving the country to impressive GDP increases, averaging 6–8% annually. Today, India is the fifth-largest economy in the world. However, this economic boom has not benefited everyone equally, and the story of India’s progress is far more complex than it might first appear. Over 65% of the population still lives in rural areas, where poverty, limited opportunities, and a lack of basic services define daily life. As a result, millions of people migrate to India’s megacities like Delhi and Mumbai, seeking a better future. Yet, even in these cities, over 40% of the population lives in slums, without access to adequate housing, education, or healthcare. This harsh reality stands in stark contrast to the stories of success enjoyed by India’s tech elites and industrial moguls.
This narrative of migration, struggle, and survival forms the core of The Only Way Is Up, a documentary shorts programme that explores the lives of those left behind by the country’s rapid urbanization. The programme provides a window into their challenges, painting a portrait of those who, despite their best efforts, remain marginalized by a system that rewards the few while ignoring the many.
The films in The Only Way Is Up offer varied perspectives on migration, identity, and survival, highlighting the gap between the promise of upward mobility and the harsh realities faced by those left behind. Through stories of migrant workers, cultural loss, and labour struggles, these documentaries reveal the human cost of India’s economic rise. They also celebrate the resilience of individuals striving for a better life, even when the challenges seem impossible to overcome.
The Only Way Is Up reveals that the path to progress is rarely smooth. For many, the way up is anything but certain.
Curated by John Canciani, Lea Heuer, and Delphine Jeanneret
with the kind support of: 
