WORLD FILM SCREENING SCHEDULE
Immerse yourself in world cinema, award-winning anthropological films, and exclusive director welcome presentations at F5IFF 2026.
World Cinema & Anthropological Showcase
🎙️ Festival Inaugural Ceremony
Life Near the Canal
Life Near the Canal is a youth-led documentary that explores the everyday reality of communities living beside a polluted canal in Howrah. Through close observation and personal voices, the film looks beyond the visible waste and contaminated water to understand how the canal continues to shape daily life, health, livelihood, movement, and memory. Created by the Youth of LP4Y Howrah in collaboration with Fest5 International Film Festival, the documentary follows people who have learned to live alongside an environment under constant pressure. Their experiences reveal the quiet relationship between pollution, neglect, resilience, and survival. Rather than treating the canal only as an environmental problem, the film presents it as a living social space—one that connects people, carries consequences, and reflects larger questions about urban responsibility, public awareness, and the kind of environment we are leaving for the next generation.
We Were Here
Directed by Pranav Bhasin
In a crumbling Indian town, three retired men protest machines replacing human jobs by pretending to be household appliances.
Echoes on the walls
Directed by Nilesh Arun Kunjir
Echoes on the Walls journeys across India’s cities, villages, and indigenous landscapes to document artists who transform public walls into sites of cultural memory and living heritage. Through quiet observation, the film explores wall art as a form of visual anthropology — capturing community identities, social realities, and personal histories in spaces often erased or overlooked. As rapid urban transformation reshapes traditional art practices, these murals emerge as fragile yet defiant records of contemporary India.
WHITEOUT
Directed by Kari & Jonathan Pihoqahiak, Romain Cipière
Kari and Jonathan have chosen adventure as a way of life, drawn by uncertainty and bound by a shared belief in exploration. In the heart of winter, when the days are short and the conditions merciless, they set out on a 12-day ski-pulk expedition across Norway’s vast Hardangervidda plateau. They expect harsh conditions. What they don’t expect is a storm that never lets go. As storms build and the wind refuses to ease, progress becomes a daily act of resistance, and the original plan slowly falls apart. Forced to adapt, Kari and Jonathan confront a deeper question: what does adventure truly mean when survival comes first? Through an intimate and reflective interview, they revisit the expedition looking back, revealing the inner battles that kept them moving and the invisible scars left behind. This film is not about reaching a destination, but about what remains when the storm is over and the long journey back to oneself begins.
🍱 Lunch Break & Networking
Skyward
Directed by Suruchi Sharma
Set against a surreal cityscape of the pink city, this is a tale of a woman's quest – in a world infused with myth and mystery, where each move opens up a new world. She meets people, lovers, riddles, world-warping questions and even a goddess as she wades through this haze of wonder and realisation and begins to see everything anew.
Shadows Beneath the Peaks
The story takes place in Gilgit, a region in the beautiful Hunza Valley. It is known for its peaceful environment and breathtaking scenery, which attracts tourists from around the world. But behind this beauty is a reality that is often ignored—Gilgit has faced serious tragedies and disasters. One of the most heartbreaking events happened in Attabad Valley. A large landslide, caused by climate change, destroyed the entire area. Families were forced to leave their homes. People lost their land, which they used for farming and which gave them a sense of identity. After the disaster, they were left without clean water, basic facilities, and even proper places to bury their loved ones. Despite everything, the people of Attabad vallley have shown great strength. They are trying to rebuild their lives and support each other. But there is one important issue that is not getting enough attention—mental health. Even though some help has arrived in the form of money and supplies, many survivors are still dealing with deep emotional pain. They are struggling with fear, sadness, and stress, but have no proper support. This film is not just about one place, it is a story about climate change and its human impact. It shows how the actions of people in other parts of the world can hurt those living in sensitive mountain areas like Gilgit-Baltistan. The film ends with a strong message: we must take climate change seriously and also care for the mental health of those affected. Climate change is not just about the environmen, it is about real people and their lives.
SAVING PARADISE : The Grand Canyon
Directed by Grégory Maitre
The Grand Canyon, carved by the Colorado River over 445 kilometers, is one of the most spectacular natural sites on the planet. Despite its harsh mineral environment, it is home to remarkable biodiversity: condors on its cliffs, pumas and bighorn sheep in the south, bison and elk in the cooler northern forests, and beavers and birds along its banks. However, mass tourism, dam construction, uranium mining, and climate change threaten its delicate balance. The eleven Indigenous peoples of the region are calling for concrete measures to preserve this geological, biological, and cultural sanctuary—a precious heritage for future generations.
☕ Afternoon Tea & Coffee Break
Dukaan
Directed by Siddharth-Garima
Dukaan is the story of a surrogate mother who falls in love with a child she bears in exchange of money for a childless couple. In the backdrop of rural surrogacy practised in interior Gujarat, india in the early 90s, Dukaan intends to explore the importance of emotional attachment in a transactional set up. It's the story of every creator, who parts with their creation but can the umbilical chord be cut off? The film discovers through its protagonist Jasmine Patel.
Important Notice: Screening dates, time slots, and venue halls are tentative and subject to change without prior notice due to operational exigencies.