Eleven-year-old Mivan is sent from the city to stay with his aunt Pahi in a rural village. Accustomed to eating pasta and communicating in English, Mivan finds life in the countryside harsh and boring. Initially filled with resistance and rage, he gradually adjusts to his new surroundings as he connects with the friends, animals, and nature around him. His incongruous presence creates a crack in the conservative rural village, and Mivan and the other children begin to resist the existing order, stirring up one small commotion after another. Rima Das places greater importance on the atmosphere of a film than on dramatic developments, and her direction shines here as the children’s world unfolds against the picturesque landscape of the Assam region. Capturing the gradual transformation of a boy alongside the changes taking place around him, the film infuses the story with the breath of emotional honesty.
Rima Das is a filmmaker from Assam, India, whose deeply personal and distinctive storytelling explores human relationships, resilience, and humanity's bond with nature. Her works have screened at over 150 festivals worldwide and earned more than 75 awards. Her filmography includes Village Rockstars (2017), Bulbul Can Sing (2018), Tora’s Husband (2022), Village Rockstars 2 (2024), and Not a Hero (2026), which have screened at Toronto, Berlin, and Busan, among others. Her debut film Village Rockstars (2017) won Best Feature Film at the National Film Awards in India and was selected as India’s official Academy Awards entry in 2018. Village Rockstars 2 (2024) received the Kim Jiseok Award at the 2024 Busan International Film Festival, and Not a Hero (2026) earned the Crystal Bear Special Mention in the Generation KPlus section at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival. Das is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and has served on the juries of international film festivals.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
