SONGLINES FILM FESTIVAL: Oral Histories, Lands and People
21-22 February 2026
Auditorium, Humayun’s Tomb Museum
Sundar Nursery, Nizammudin, New Delhi
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: THEME: 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. Trailer
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. Trailer
Discussion with filmmaker/s
12:30-12:45 pm: Bio break
12:45 pm - 1;30 pm: THEME: 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.
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm: Lunch Break and Exhibition viewing
3:00 pm – 7:00 pm: FILMS AND CONVERSATIONS
3:00 pm - 4:15 pm: THEME: 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. Trailer
NINGWASUM
(44:26 mins/ Yakthung with English subtitles/ 2021/ Sci-fi/ 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. Trailer
Facilitated Discussion
4:15 – 4:30 pm: Bio break
4:30 pm - 7:00 pm: THEME: 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. Trailer
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: THEME: Wandering Tribes and Belonging
SIKKIDRE SHIKARI ILDIDDRE BHIKARI (If I trap a prey, I’m a hunter, else, a beggar)
(82 mins/ Kannada,Waghri Boli with English subtitles/ 2017/ Documentary/ India)
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. Trailer
Facilitated Discussion
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm: Lunch Break and Exhibition viewing
3:00 pm – 7:30 pm: FILMS AND CONVERSATIONS
3:00 pm - 4:45 pm: THEME: 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. Trailer
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. Trailer
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. Trailer
Discussion with filmmaker/s and exhibition walk
4:45 – 5:00 pm: Bio break
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm: THEME: 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. Trailer
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. Trailer
Discussion with filmmaker/ speaker
Curated by Aanchal Kapur, Kriti Film Club
Senior Associate: Shivani Monga, Kriti Film Club
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