The short film ‘Shanti’ has received the Silver Egg Award in the Best Short Film category at the 2024 Kustendorf International Film and Music Festival in Serbia.

Set in 1920s India, ‘Shanti’ is a moving period drama along the Indo-Nepal border, portraying a mother’s strength and love as she bravely faces challenges to protect her child from dacoits.

Directed by self-taught filmmaker Vivek Rai from Kurseong, the film draws inspiration from a true incident in ‘Ek Mukta Munal’ by Chimmi Angmu Lama. It centres on a single mother’s courage and resilience.

Rai, an alumnus of Himali Boarding School, Kurseong, and a Delhi University graduate, shifted from working with NGOs and advertising to pursue filmmaking in 2015. Funded by author Sunny Lama’s son, Rai gathered a skilled cast and crew to film in the picturesque village of Sittong in Kalimpong district.

The film’s authenticity in character portrayal was commended by the Kustendorf jury.

Other short films directed by Rai include ‘And We Are Lost Too’, screened at Spain’s Cortiga Film Festival in 2016, ‘Jyanmara’, ‘Jyoti Binako Ujyalo’, and ‘O Darjeeling’.

Collaborating with Pem Tshering Yolmo, Aman Rai, Siddarth Rai and the Natraj Theatre group from Kurseong, Rai co-founded April Skies Films, which produced ‘Shanti’. The independent film production house, based in Kurseong, aims to celebrate and foster the literary wealth of the region.

The production house is gearing up for its first feature-length film, ‘Libistick Golaai’, scheduled for release later this year. April Skies Films embodies the spirit of preserving and disseminating the region’s rich cultural heritage through the impactful medium of cinema.