The Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF) announces the selection of 22 Market projects as part of CinéV-CHD which will take place from March 20-23, 2025, alongside the festival that has carefully curated selection features an eclectic mix of films from creators who have made significant contributions to the Indian film industry. The projects span a diverse array of languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Urdu, Gujarati, Telugu, Bengali, and Kannada.
CinéV Market of the Cinevesture International Film Festival has also partnered with the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) to introduce CinéV-IFFLA, a collaboration designed to integrate South Asian projects from Cinevesture into IFFLA’s Industry Days program. Scheduled for May 6-10, 2025, IFFLA’s Industry Days will provide opportunities for South Asian filmmakers to connect with Hollywood producers through pitch competitions, panels, masterclasses, and networking events.
This year’s selection features 22 films, offering a diverse mix of genres, languages, and stories. The selection includes projects by established names like Vikramaditya Motwane, Hansal Mehta, Honey Trehan, Richa Chadha, Jeo Baby, Manju Warrier and Prasanna Vithanage. 12 out of 22 are women-oriented projects including films by Radhika Apte, Nandita Das, Shonali Bose, and Kani Kusruti. The lineup includes two projects based in Punjab, Honey Trehan’s The Blade Runner and Shashank Walia’s Hanere De Panchhi and a project by Punjabi filmmaker of Tabbar fame, Ajitpal Singh’s next feature Marx and Lenin.The line up includes 21 live-action features and an animation anthology Table for One produced by Little Things actor Dhruv Sehgal.
CinéV-CHD marks the first in a series of planned film markets aimed at bridging the gap between filmmakers, investors, and distributors. This initiative of Cinevesture International Film Festival is the vision of Nina Lath, Founder & CEO of Cinevesture Pvt. Ltd.
Namrata Joshi, Curator Project Market at the Cinevesture International Film Festivalsays, “It was extremely heartening to find submissions growing exponentially from last year, both in number and quality. It has meant that we have been able to showcase a very rich platter of unique, compelling and engaging stories–from a mind-bending thriller to sweeping romance, from psychological drama to an animation series spun on food and an absurd comedy and a cross-border adventure. We even have two outstanding projects, meant for adults, where children are the real heroes. In a nutshell, lots to bet your money on.”
Founder & CEO, Cinevesture Nina Lath Gupta says, “Investing in a film and putting it out there in the market is akin to investing in a startup with a quick turnaround and exit strategy. We hope that this curation will mark the beginning of instilling investor confidence in the production of films as part of their diversification portfolios.”
CINEV-CHD Selected Projects – Cinevesture International Film Festival
The Blade Runner
Director: Honey Trehan
Producer: Varun Bajaj, Chirag Bajaj, Honey Trehan, Abhishek Chaubey
Genre: Biography, Drama
Language: Hindi, Punjabi
War hero D.P. Singh defies death and systemic injustice, finding redemption and respect as India’s first Blade Runner, inspiring others through his relentless pursuit of justice and life.
Chronicles of a confession
Director: Prateek Vats
Producer: Ranjan Singh
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Language: Hindi, Kashmiri, Urdu
A young shawl seller’s confession to a crime he didn’t commit spurs an investigation revealing truths as absurd as everyday life in Kashmir.
Avi & Smi (Working Title)
Director: Nandita Das
Producer: Nandita Das
Genre: Drama
Language: English, Hindi
After 6 months of separation, Avi and Smi revisit their 16-year marriage over a day and night – what held them together, what drove them apart. Will they find closure?
Beyond The Border Lines
Director: Bijukumar Damodaran
Producer: Manju Warrier
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Language: Chinese, English, Hindi, Malayalam
An archaeology team stranded at the Indo-China border negotiates a tough journey back home.
Black Mountain Monpa
Director: Shonali Bose
Producer: Anshulika Dubey
Genre: Drama
Language: Hindi, Marathi
A linguist sent to propagate Hindi in Arunachal Pradesh tries to “save” an endangered language by coaxing two enemies to speak. A sudden death makes him realize language is not power but memory, identity, belonging.
Friends and Fascism
Director: Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy
Producer: Aishwarya Sonar, Shuchi Dwivedi (Co-producer)
Genre: Comedy
Language: English, Hindi
In an all-girls Catholic boarding school in India, a know-it-all Rinky is desperate to become the School Captain. Her dreams are disrupted by an election when she’s forced to compete against her former best friend.
Guptam (The Last of Them Plagues)
Director: Kunjila Mascillamani
Producer: Jeo Baby, Kani Kusruti (co-producer), Pushing Buttons Studios (co-producer)
Genre: Drama
Language: Malayalam
When her daughter disappears in a graveyard, a single mother moves to a conservative rural town in Thrissur, Keralam. As disasters follow, she must prove to the locals that she isn’t causing God’s wrath.
Ghol (The Catch)
Director: Rishi Chandna
Producer: Rishi Chandna
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Language: Gujarati, Hindi
A struggling fisherman, yearning for a better life, sees a glimmer of hope in a rare, valuable catch. But life, with its usual sense of irony, has other plans.
Hanere De Panchi (Birds in the Dark)
Director: Shashank Walia
Producer: Hansal Mehta, Sahil Saigal, Reema Kaur
Co-Producers: Mauli Singh, Gagan Deep Kaur
Genre: Drama
Language: Punjabi, Urdu, Kashmiri
A disillusioned police agent and a wrongly accused man find unexpected love. Reunited in a caste-divided village, their bond navigates an unresolved past while forging new solidarities amidst a rising farm revolution.
Ko Ko Ko
Director: Venkatesh Maha
Producer: Venkatesh Maha
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Language: Telugu
In a village where pride and prejudice hinge on victory or defeat in brutal cock-fights, a constant loser challenges the violent tradition, forcing his community to embrace compassion over competition.
Koyta (Sickle)
Director: Radhika Apte
Producer: Vikramaditya Motwane
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Fantasy
Language: Hindi, Marathi
When a forced medical procedure unexpectedly gives her superpowers, a young migrant sugarcane cutter incurs the wrath of the local powers as she uses her new abilities to pull her family out of debt.
Marx and Lenin
Director: Ajitpal Singh
Producer: Jugni Films LLP
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller, War
Language: English, Hindi
In 2008, two ambitious friends—a journalist and a filmmaker—venture into a Maoist-controlled jungle for a career-defining story, but brutal realities force them to choose empathy over ambition, emerging as better human beings.
Masthishka Maranam (A Frankenbiting of Simon’s Memories)
Director: KRISHAND RK
Producer: KRISHAND RK
Genre: Comedy, Thriller
Language: Malayalam
A grieving father enters a VR game that lets users experience others’ memories, only to witness an actress’s private moments—and a shocking crime—forcing him into a mind-bending, comedic thriller of capitalism, content, and digital voyeurism.
Papita
Director: Aakash Bhatia
Producer: Richa Chadha
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Language: Hindi
Porus Bisht, a paparazzi photographer in Mumbai, dreams of becoming a revered photographer. His life takes a dramatic turn when he captures a shocking incident involving a popular celebrity.
Prem Patra (Love Letter)
Director: Atul Sabharwal
Producer: Atul Sabharwal
Genre: Romance
Language: Hindi
In the time of war, a forlorn postman tries to find love by manipulating the letters sent to a woman by her soldier husband.
Punishment
Director: Jeo Baby
Producer: Jomon Jacob
Genre: Drama
Language: Malayalam
An arrogant teacher’s authority is challenged by an outspoken eight-year-old who rejects corporal punishment, turning their feud into a battle of wills that forces him to face his failures and changes his life forever.
Savvy Savitri
Director: Disha Rindani
Producer: Anushka Shah
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Language: English, Hindi
Gracy Gupta, secretary of Paryavaran Park, handles everything from leaky pipes to pests. When her husband becomes a sex offender, she’s ostracized and embarks on a journey of self-discovery at the failing women’s magazine, Savitri.
Table for One
Director: Debjyoti Saha
Producer: Dhruv Sehgal
Genre: Animation
Language: Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi
‘Table for One’ is an Indian adult animated anthology series that uses food as a prism to explore complex human narratives that are both, intimate and universal.
Taimur
Director: Mohammad Gani
Producer: Atif Khan, Sanjay Gulati
Genre: Drama
Language: Hindi
Kind-hearted Taimur keeps his infertility a secret from his wife. When she conceives another man’s child, his anguish pushes him to a breaking point, leading to tragedy.
Talaab (The Pond)
Director: Pranav Brara
Producer: Sanita Chittilappilly
Genre: Drama
Language: Hindi
Sneha Kohli becomes aware of her schizophrenic behaviour caused by toxic parenting and traumatic dysfunctional family ties.
Ummeed (Hope)
Director: Karan Tejpal
Producer: Dimpy Agrawal
Genre: Drama, Horror
Language: Hindi
In a small town in India, a same-sex couple conceives through an illegal sperm donation, unleashing a mysterious force that feeds on hatred and threatens to destroy them.
An Unreal Story
Director: Utpal Borpujari
Producer: Prasanna Vithanage
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Language: Hindi
At a militant camp in India’s Northeast, a hostage breaks the ice with a child ‘soldier’ by telling a story. Will the hostage be able to escape manipulating the child? Or, is his fate doomed?
CinéV Film Markets at the Cinevesture International Film Festival is a series of market-driven platforms connecting investors with curated, pre-vetted film projects. It fosters cross-industry investment opportunities, bringing compelling stories to life with strong execution teams. The inaugural CinéV-CHD will take place at Hyatt Centric, Chandigarh, on March 20-23, 2025, alongside CIFF 2025. The next edition, CinéV-IFFLA, will follow in Los Angeles, May 2025.
Cinévesture International Film Festival (CIFF) is building a wider film culture in cities with an appetite for cinema viewing and for investing in the business and creative aspects of filmic content. Chandigarh, situated at the foothills of the Himalayas in Northern India, is India’s first planned city designed by the renowned architect, town planner and artist La Corbusier. Chandigarh’s inherent understanding of art and design has been a thriving springboard for the first and second editions of CIFF. CIFF’s first edition, held from March 27-31, 2024, was a great success with a footfall of over 1000 delegates. For more details about the first edition.
