“Shadows of the Moonless Nights”, a 24-minute short by FTII student Mehar Malhotra, has been chosen for the La Cinef Competitive section at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. The segment, dedicated to film school fiction and animation, features 14 live-action and five animated shorts this year.
Organisers said they received 2,750 entries from film schools worldwide. The selected films are directed by 12 women and nine men, representing 15 countries across four continents. Malhotra’s film will vie for three La Cinef prizes to be awarded by a jury on May 21 at the Buñuel Theatre.
Malhotra, who studies direction and screenplay writing at the Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India, wrote and directed the primarily Punjabi-language film, titled “Parchave Masseah Rataan De” in Punjabi. The story follows Rajan, a weary factory worker who endures gruelling shifts and a volatile home life while drifting through sleepless nights in the city as he seeks rest that always seems out of reach, according to the official logline on Letterboxd.
The cast includes Prayrak Mehta, Nikita Grover and Himanshu Kohli. The crew comprises cinematographer Diggant Surti, production designer Rashmi Kushwaha, editor Shreyas Bhopi, sound designer/recorder/mixer Sai Sanjay and music composer Sudin.
Malhotra celebrated the selection on her Instagram Stories, writing: “Some news! Humbled and honoured.”
