Manu, a 16-minute low-dialogue short film directed by Ganesh Pareek, has been awarded an Honourable Jury Mention at the 15th Dadasaheb Phalke Film Festival 2025, New Delhi on 1 May 2025. The award recognized Manu for its original narrative form (9/10 originality score) and emotionally grounded storytelling — a quiet, powerful work built around ritual, memory, and sensory rhythm.
🎬 About the Film:
Set on the day of Gangaur in Kolkata, Manu follows a young boy overlooked by his family on his own birthday. Against a backdrop of devotional performance and domestic repetition, the boy’s quiet gaze becomes an emotional compass — revealing what isn’t spoken in homes where tradition drowns tenderness.
Told with minimal dialogue, the film unfolds through gesture, stillness, and inner movement, offering a trance-like meditation on grief, childhood, and emotional inheritance.
🎙 About the Director:
Ganesh Pareek is a Cannes Gold and Glass Lion-winning producer, best known for crafting emotionally resonant, socially conscious campaigns. His notable works include:
•Nike’s ‘Make Every Yard Count’ – a poetic anthem of movement and memory
•Beauty Tips by Reshma – a viral campaign starring an acid attack survivor, acclaimed for its raw emotional impact
•Flipkart ‘Equal Day’ – a celebration of inclusion, subtlety, and equality
With Manu, Ganesh steps into personal, authored cinema — creating what he calls ritual-led, trance-driven storytelling.
“I didn’t make Manu to explain. I made it to return,” says Pareek. “Return to the spaces we all carry — quiet wounds, invisible birthdays, the rituals we mimic but don’t always feel. This Jury Mention isn’t just recognition. It’s affirmation that even stillness can move.”
🌍 Festival Journey Ahead:
Following its Jury Mention at DSPFF, Manu is currently in submission to top global festivals including Sundance, ZINEBI, Busan, Kerala IDSFFK, and Locarno, with early attention from curated OTT platforms interested in emotionally layered, original Indian storytelling.
Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival- https://educationexpo.tv/dada-saheb-phalke-film-festival
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