Stenzin Tankyong’s Ladakh-set debut feature Kakthet (Idiot) has won the inaugural INR40 lakh ($42,000) feature film co-production fund run by Humans of Cinema and Safarnaama Pictures. The Ladakhi-language project was selected from nearly 400 entries after an extensive screening and evaluation process. The fund was launched by Humans of Cinema founder Harshit Bansal and Safarnaama Pictures founder Nazim Momin, with Vishal Bhardwaj and Shaunak Sen attached as mentors.
The film follows the precarious future of a government school and the community around it: both depend on one reluctant grade 10 student who has never passed an exam, and teachers must save the school by saving the one student determined not to be saved.
A proof point for regional-language indie finance
For independent filmmakers working outside Hindi and English, early development money is often the hardest cheque to raise. This fund matters because it is homegrown, targeted at a first feature, and carries the weight of two recognised creative mentors. Sen is also executive producer of the winning project, which adds practical support beyond the grant.
The jury comprised actor Imran Khan, filmmaker Arati Kadav, All That Breathes producer Aman Mann and festival director Aseem Chhabra. Their involvement signals that the selection is not just a cash grant but a form of creative vetting an emerging filmmaker can carry into other rooms.
Momentum the market has already noticed
- Selected from nearly 400 entries for the inaugural fund
- Won the Co-Production Features Grant at WAVES Film Bazaar in 2025
- Chosen as one of 30 projects for the 2026 Asian Project Market at Busan
- Produced by Ritu Sarin and Rajesh Thanickan, with French co-producer La Belle Affaire Productions attached
What the money actually unlocks
The INR40 lakh grant is seed capital, not a fully financed film. The screenplay is in its fourth draft, and the team completed a three-week recce across the Changthang region and Leh in July 2026. Principal cast, crew and shooting locations are now in place; the next phase is securing additional financing and co-production relationships across Asia, Australia and Europe.
That sequence is the playbook: use a small, credible grant to package the project, then convert festival-market wins into larger co-production conversations. “The Kakthet script mobilizes lightness, absurdity and humor to tell the story of a slow lamentation underwriting several lives in Ladakh,” Sen said.
For media planners and development executives, this is a discovery filter, not just a one-off announcement. A project that can survive a near-400 entry screen and then stack a market grant and a Busan selection is likely to arrive at acquisition meetings with clearer packaging, stronger producers and a more defined audience story than an unsolicited script.
What to watch next
For streaming platforms and content buyers looking for differentiated Indian-language slates, Kakthet now arrives with producer credibility, a proof-of-concept teaser in progress, and a clear path to international co-production. The next milestone is whether interest from Busan and WAVES converts into the fuller budget the project needs.
Source: Variety
