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29 Jan – 8 Feb 2026
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Pankaj Rishi Kumar

Pankaj Rishi KUMAR is an Indian teacher and filmmaker. After graduating from the FTII Pune in 1992, with a specialisation in Film Editing, Pankaj was an assistant editor on Sekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen. After editing numerous documentaries and TV serials, he made his first film, Kumar Talkies. Subsequently, Pankaj has become a one-man crew producing, directing, shooting and editing his own films under the banner of Kumar Talkies. His films have been screened at film festivals all over the world. He has won grants from Hubert Bals, IFA, Jan Vrijman, AND (Korea), Banff, Majlis, Sarai, and Pad.ma. Pankaj was awarded an Asia Society fellowship at Harvard Asia Centre (2003). He is an alumnus of the Asian Film Academy (Pusan) and Berlin Talents (2016). Pankaj also curates and teaches.

Filmography

Kumar Talkies (2000), Pather Chujaeri (2001), The Vote (2003), Gharat (2005), 3 Men and a Bulb (2006), Punches n Ponytails (2008), Seeds of Dissent (2009), In God’s Land (2012), Two Flags (2019), Janani’s Juliet (2019), To Die a Frenchman (2025)

Pankaj Rishi Kumar at IFFR

  • To Die a Frenchman

    Pankaj Rishi Kumar | 80' | India | World premiere

    In Pondicherry, India, a man fights for French citizenship in this compelling reflection on post-colonial identity.

  • Kumar Talkies

    Pankaj Rishi Kumar | 76' | India | World premiere

    ‘Cinema verité’ documentary juxtaposes the real world of a village in India, where the economic crisis makes life uncertain, with the imaginary world

  • Kali of Emergency

    Ashish Avikunthak | 79' | Germany | Dutch Premiere

    The goddess Kali takes human form in an inscrutable, transfixing avant-garde work.

  • Ship of Theseus

    Anand Gandhi | 139' | India | None

    Three philosophical parables converge at a paradox: restoring a photographer’s eyesight might do more harm than good; a monk with ethical concerns cho

  • Vakratunda Swaha

    Ashish Avikunthak | 22' | India | None

    Layered film combines rituals honouring the Hindu god Ganesha with very personal images and confessions.