Indian indie films shine globally with historic wins in 2025

Entertainment Dec 27, 2025

Indian indie films seriously leveled up this year, grabbing major international awards.
Rohan Kanawade's Sabar Bonda, a story about queer identity, won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.
Over at Venice, Anuparna Roy's debut Songs of Forgotten Trees—about two migrant women in Mumbai—earned her the Orizzonti Best Director award.

More highlights from 2025's festival circuit

Baksho Bondi, focused on a working-class woman in Kolkata, picked up Best Actor (Female) for Tillotama Shome and Best Director for Saumyananda Sahi and Tanushree Das at Toronto's South Asia fest.
Meanwhile, Rima Das won Best Director at NYIFF for Village Rockstars 2, which spotlights life in flood-hit Assam.
It's been a big year proving just how far Indian indie stories can go!