Rohan Kanawade
Directing
Biography
Rohan comes from a humble background, raised in a one-room house in a Mumbai slum by a chauffeur father and homemaker mother. He is a self-made filmmaker with a background in interior design. His shorts have been screened globally. U Ushacha won him the prestigious Satyajit Ray Short Film Award at London Indian Film Festival 2019. His first feature Sabar Bonda was developed in Venice Biennale College Cinema 2022-2023 under the working title Arms of a Man. It was also the part of Film London PFM 2021, NFDC Marathi Script camp 2021, Film Bazaar CPM 2022, 80th Venice Gap Financing Market 2023 and Goes To Cannes 2024.
Known For
Anand, a 30-something city dweller compelled to spend a 10-day mourning period for his father in the rugged countryside of western India, tenderly bonds with a local farmer who is struggling to stay unmarried. As the mourning ends, forcing his return, Anand must decide the fate of his relationship born under duress.
Cactus Pears
Usha, a single mother who works as a farm labourer in rural India, finds herself drawn to a female teacher of local primary school, in ways she never knew possible.
U for Usha
A middle-aged housewife, Madhu, and a young screenplay writer, Ashween, live across the road from each other, and get glimpses of one another's lives from their living-room windows. Little do they know that their minds have their own windows!
Khidkee
The story of Jayu, who enjoys cross-dressing and wants to play dandiya, a traditional Gujarat folk dance, on the last day of Navratri, a nine-day festival dedicated to the worship of Durga, but has been forbidden from doing so by his mother.
Sundar
A father and son navigate a fragile relationship when the son comes out as gay, confronting fear, rejection, and societal pressure. He soon discovers that his father harbors the same truth about himself. Through quiet moments and tender confrontation, the story explores identity, acceptance, and intergenerational understanding, offering a sensitive portrayal of LGBTQ+ experiences in Indian society.