Hansal Mehta will return to the Busan International Film Festival this year with Birds in the Dark (Hanere De Panchi), but in a new role: producer.
The Punjabi-language feature, written, shot and directed by cinematographer-turned-filmmaker Shashank Walia, will have its world premiere in the Vision–Asia section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival, which runs October 6–15, 2026.
For Mehta, the selection marks his third appearance at Busan. His previous films Aligarh (2015) and Omerta (2017) were selected at the festival, with Mehta attending those editions as director. This time, he is backing another filmmaker's work as a producer alongside Sahil Saigal through True Story Films.
“Birds in the Dark emerges from the people and returns to them,” Walia said of the film, describing it as a work born from an attempt to understand people through mutual aid, care and solidarity.
Set in rural Punjab, the film is shot in black and white and incorporates Punjabi, Kashmiri and Urdu dialects. Its concerns include gender, caste, class and labour, with justice, resistance and love forming part of its thematic core.
Mehta said the Busan selection was particularly meaningful because it represents his producing debut at the festival.
“This is my 3rd film at Busan (Aligarh and Omerta as director) and I couldn’t be prouder making my debut as a producer at Busan with Shashank’s exquisitely meditative painting on gender, labour, justice and love,” he said.
The producer's association with the film began before its Busan selection. Mehta has previously described being shown material from the project and being struck by Walia's visual approach. In an earlier interview, he said he had seen only a few scenes and was impressed by the film's “visual poetry,” calling Walia a distinctive emerging voice.
According to Mehta's account of the film's journey, Mauli Singh and Ankur Pathak brought the project to his team last year. He later watched the first 40 minutes on Walia's laptop in Chandigarh and decided to back the film. Mehta has said that True Story Films is interested in supporting filmmakers whose voices he believes will matter in the years ahead.
Birds in the Dark is produced by Reema Kaur for Two Black Squares and by Mehta and Sahil Saigal for True Story Films. Kaur also serves as the film's editor.
For Walia, the Busan selection marks a major step from his work as a cinematographer and writer into feature filmmaking. Busan describes him as a filmmaker who has worked as a writer and cinematographer with major festivals and platforms including Netflix, while presenting Birds in the Dark as a directorial feature debut built around striking imagery and a philosophical core.
The film is one of two Indian titles selected for Vision–Asia this year. The other is Selvi, the Tamil-language feature debut of Sailesh Rathnakumar, starring and produced by Anjali Patil. The 11-film Vision–Asia programme brings together independent cinema from across Asia, while the overall Vision section contains 23 films split between Vision–Korea and Vision–Asia.
The Indian presence is therefore notable not simply for the number of selections, but for the kinds of films represented: two independent feature debuts from filmmakers working outside conventional mainstream production structures, with Birds in the Dark bringing Punjabi-language cinema to one of Asia's major film festivals.
For Mehta, meanwhile, the Busan selection adds another dimension to an increasingly active role as a producer and backer of emerging filmmakers. His True Story Films slate has also included regional and independent projects, including Shashank Walia's film, alongside work with filmmakers such as Lijo Jose Pellissery and Ajitpal Singh.
The 31st Busan International Film Festival will take place from October 6 to 15 in Busan, South Korea. The full festival selection is expected to be announced on September 1.
