SONGLINES FILM FESTIVAL

Oral Histories, Lands and People

Curated by Aanchal Kapur, Kriti Film Club

Senior Associate: Shivani Monga, Kriti Film Club

Final Schedule

Saturday, 21st February 2026

10:30 am: REGISTRATION

11:00 am – 1:30 pm: FILMS AND CONVERSATIONS 

11:00 am: Festival Introduction and welcome

11:15 am - 12:30 pm: Mythic Femininities 

KALSUBAI 

(20:00/ Marathi with English subtitles/ 2020/ Documentary/ India)

Dir. Yudhajit Basu

An ethnographic film exploring the legend of a Mahadeo Koli Goddess Kaldu whose story and identity remains impregnated in the consciousness of the women of the tribe even today. 

JOURNEY TO NAGALAND

26 mins/ 2010/ Animation/ India) 

by Aditi Chitre

The story of a young girl who is led to a distant land by the force of her visions and her mother’s spirit to discover the latter’s roots, and possibly her own. 

Discussion with filmmaker/s

12:45 pm - 1:30 pm: Sung Histories 

DARÊN BI TENÊ (LONELY TREES)

(43 mins/ Kurdish, Arabic, Assyrian with English subtitles/ 2017/ Documentary/ Kurdistan)

Dir. Shero Hinde

A documentary exploring the ‘dengbêj’ musical heritage of the singers, poets and storytellers from North and East Syria, also called Rojava.

3:00 pm - 4:15 pm: Cosmic Origins, Indigenous Futures 

HUM CHITRA BANATE HAIN (WE MAKE IMAGES)

(08:51 mins/ 2017 / Animation/ India)

Dir. Nina Sabnani

An origin story about why the Bhil people paint. Narrated from the perspective of a rooster, the story recounts a journey to find a shaman to bring relief from a catastrophic drought. 

NINGWASUM

(44:26 mins/ Yakthung with English subtitles/ 2021/ Nepal)

Dir. Subash Thebe Limbu 

A Yakthung science fiction video work that imagines a future from an Indigenous perspective where Indigenous Nations have agency, sovereignty and advanced technology. Ningwasum draws from Adivasi Futurism, a critical framework that Limbu has been developing inspired by Afrofuturism and Indigenous Futurism. 

Facilitated Discussion 

4:30 pm - 7:00 pm: Desire, Defiance and Identities 

THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE SEVEN SONGS/ LAILA AUR SAAT GEET

(96 mins/ Gojri, Hindi with English subtitles/ 2020/ Fiction/ India)

Dir. Pushpendra Singh

Based on a folktale by Rajasthani writer Vidaydan Detha and poems by the 14th-century Kashmiri mystic Lalleshwari, this film follows Laila, a young woman who reluctantly enters a marriage with a nomadic shepherd and finds herself courted by a relentless and lustful cop. 

Discussion with filmmaker followed by an exhibition walk in sync with film’s narrative 

Sunday, 22nd February 2026

10:30 am: REGISTRATION

11:00 am – 1:30 pm: FILMS AND CONVERSATIONS

11:00 am: Festival Introduction and welcome

11:15 am - 1:30 pm: Wandering Tribes and Belonging

SIKKIDRE SHIKARI ILDIDDRE BHIKARI (If I trap a prey, I’m a hunter, else, a beggar)

(82 mins/ Kannada with English subtitles/ Documentary)

Dir. Vinod Raja

A film that takes us into the world of the Hakki-Pikkis, a nomadic tribe in Karnataka, whose traditional occupation was trapping or hunting birds in forests and selling them along with trinkets and teddy bears. There is a fascinating sequence of a woman speaking about the “herbal only” beauty services she offers when she goes abroad. She embodies the wandering spirit of her tribe in a globalising economy. 

Discussion with Filmmaker and producer

3:00 pm – 7:30 pm: FILMS AND CONVERSATIONS

3:00 pm - 4:45 pm: Beyond Erasure

GOPI

(14 mins | Kannada with English subtitles | 2022 | Documentary/ India)

Dir. Nishanth Gurumurthy

Gopi Siddi is a middle-aged storyteller who identifies herself with the Siddi community (African Diaspora in South India). Inspired by the oral form of storytelling, Gopi desires to get her stories self published; however, she must first face her battles with alienation, social standing, and environmental catastrophe. 

TESTIMONY OF ANA

(24 mins/ Dangi with English subtitles/ 2021/ Documentary/ USA)

Dir. Sachin Dheeraj Mudigonda 

The story of a Gujarati woman who was branded a witch, this film delves into a deep-rooted culture of patriarchy and examines one of the most monstrous attacks on women's bodies in modern India: the witch-hunt.

AFTER THE WORLD ENDS... IT BEGINS AGAIN

(19:40 mins | Bangla, Sabar Bhasha, English w. English subtitles | 2025/ India)

Dir. Sukanya Roy

This film tells a story, while whispering several others — of three generations of women from West Bengal’s Kheria Sabar tribe, whose lives embody a quiet, perpetual determination to resist cultural erasure. As the old world handed down to Sabar women by their mothers slowly fades, the dream that takes its place is one of education, awareness and resilience. 

Discussion with filmmaker/s and exhibition walk

Facilitator: Aanchal Kapur

5:00 pm - 7:00 pm: Ancestors & Algorithms  

IN THE LAND OF MY ANCESTORS

(09:00 mins/ English/ 2018/ India)

Dir. Rucha Chitnis 

This film celebrates the legacy of beloved Ohlone elder Ann-Marie Sayers, who has devoted her life to preserving the stories and culture of her Indigenous ancestors. 

HUMANS IN THE LOOP

(72 mins/ Hindi, Kurukh with English subtitles/ 2024/ Documentary/ India)

Dir. Aranya Sahay

This film essays the story of an indigenous woman who begins interacting with AI while working in a remote data centre in Jharkhand. She begins to uncover the subtle yet persistent human biases embedded within AI systems, prompting her to question whether technology can ever truly reflect an Indigenous worldview. 

Discussion with filmmaker/ speaker