Documentary Resource Initiative

Pitch Season at DocedgeKolkata 26. Months of thinking. Days of mentorship. One moment to stand before the world. Stories find their voice, filmmakers find their courage, and ideas take their first step toward the screen. #docedgekolkata #docedge26 #pitchseason

Kathmandu Doc Lab Award @ktmdoclab In Between Rains Sudarshan Hake @sudd_nstories Sunny Side of the Doc Award @sunnysidedoc Silver Linings Kanishka Sonthalia, Siddesh Shetty @kanishkasonthalia @siddesh.ss Tokyo Docs Award @tokyodocsofficial Children of the Sea Pooja Sampath @poojasampath SAAVA ( Southeast Asian Audio-Visual Association) Award @saavaorg_official Our Bodies Bora Lee-Kil, Emi Ueyama @boraleekil @emiueyama Docs by the Sea Award @docsbythesea Every Home Ablaze Sadia Rao, Karanjit Singh @ninj.ette @daguerreologue DMZ Award @dmzdocs Silver Linings Kanishka Sonthalia, Siddesh Shetty @kanishkasonthalia @siddesh.ss DocedgeKolkata Year-Round Mentorship Award Through Scratches Chandan Biswas, Arjab Sarkar @imagemusictext @parallelparkinglot Docedge-Green Stories Award @greenstoriespitch Come Home Again Chentei Khiamniungan @chentei_photography DocedgeKolkata Lumiere Award Every Home Ablaze Sadia Rao, Karanjit Singh @ninj.ette @daguerreologue HONORARY MENTION by Sunil Doshi Orange, Beetle, Mother & I Manisha Halai @manishahalai95 TimeLight New Vision Award @hansench96 Whisper of the Warm Spring Samstan Gurmat, Sonam Nurboo @sammogyurmet @sonam.nurbu Docedge Dishakritya Award @dishaeyehospitals There is Gold In Lhasa Surbhi Dewan, Jasmine @surbhid1 @aagrabakijasmin Whickers’ Docedge Bursary @whickerawards Orange, Beetle, Mother & I Manisha Halai @manishahalai95 Whickers’ HONORARY MENTIONS Every Home Ablaze Sadia Rao, Karanjit Singh @ninj.ette @daguerreologue Whisper of the Warm Spring Samstan Gurmat, Sonam Nurboo @sammogyurmet @sonam.nurbu Little Lamb Films Docedge Award @littlelambfilmsofficial In Between Rains Sudarshan hake @sudd_nstories

DocedgeKolkata 26 moves beyond rooms and into time zones. Like every year, the conversations extend beyond the physical space, with Team DRI and our volunteers working quietly in the background to bring together industry voices from across the world, ensuring that filmmakers continue to access meaningful exchanges and opportunities. 40 participants. 30 industry guests. 22 time zones; held together by intent, grit, and a community that continues to show up.

We arrived at Docedge Kolkata as a cohort, but somewhere between the screenings, conversations, and quiet moments of reflection, we became something more. The IFFOR cohort carried not just our films, but our questions, our doubts, and our hunger to understand the world through stories that often go unheard. Docedge didn’t just show us documentaries, it opened doors to ways of seeing, listening, and feeling more deeply. It reminded us that cinema isn’t always about spectacle; sometimes, it’s about sitting with truth, however uncomfortable, and learning to hold it with care. We left Kolkata with fuller hearts, sharper perspectives, and a quiet promise to keep telling stories that matter…together, as a cohort that grew not just in craft, but in courage.

@docresi 2026: Silver Linings wins the Sunny Side of the Doc Prize! 🏆 This Indian project directed by Kanishka Sonthalia & Siddesh Shetty 🎬 highlights a culture where ageing is shaped into quiet routine. We follow seniors across #India slip into #friendship clubs and speed-dating events to claim #love, and the possibility of a new beginning! The film enters this space between longing and taboo. The team also wins 2 free Sunny Side of the Doc 2026 accreditations to join us in La Rochelle from 22 to 24 June ✨ Congrats @kanishkasonthalia , @silverlinings_film

We are grateful to @goetheinstitut_kolkata @ifiofficiel @alt.eff @whickerawards @tokyodocsofficial @dmzdocs @sunnysidedoc @docsbythesea @saavaorg_official @srfti_official @littlelambfilmsofficial @tossjaipur @dhakadoclab @greenhub_india @doitcraj @istart.rajasthan @iffor.official @royalenfield @dishaeyehospital @icicibank @technoindiauniversity @blum_group for their generous support and partnership with DocedgeKolkata 26. Your belief in documentary storytelling helps create the space where filmmakers can develop ideas, build collaborations, and bring important stories to the world. Thank you for standing with this community and making this journey possible. #DocedgeKolkata #Docedge26 #Partners #DocumentaryCommunity

This weekend, stories come alive. 🎬✨ Kos Minar Film Festival is here at OP Jindal Global University from 21st to 22nd March. Join us for powerful films, inspiring filmmakers, and conversations that stay with you long after the screen fades. See you there. 🍿🎥 #KosMinar #FilmFestival #OPJindal #CinemaLovers #StudentLife

Another year of DocedgeKolkata… We thank our mentor for all their support. They joined both physically and virtually to make this edition possible. Thank you for all your support @huddlestonollie @k.lidin @sarvnik Ryota Kotani @sleochiang Emma Davie @audreymaurion @stonys.audrius @seansan1965 Alejandro Valdes-Rochin @salome_o_jashi @beechtobeach Paul Pauwels

Frames from Docedge Kolkata 2026 Wrapped and how beautifully Capture Credits: @pavitraaa.a @__jayansh_ @broughttoyoubyraghav #docedgekolkata2026 #docedgekolkata #istartiffor #tossjaipurxdocedgekolkata

While war redraws borders in the world outside, inside spaces like Docedge @docresi we are redrawing the maps of stories. Just back from a week at Docedge Kolkata, sitting with filmmakers from across our continent as they shaped the fragile early lives of their films. The war in Iran did not feel distant. Many international mentors and panelists couldn’t travel because of the escalating hostilities across the Middle East. Yet inside Docedge another kind of war room unfolded. Founder Nilotpal Majumdar and artistic director Diksha Sharma @diki_bird stepped in like calm generals, redrawing the map of the week so the filmmakers who had travelled with so many hopes would still find the space they came for. What emerges here is more than an industry gathering. It is a rare ecology — where filmmakers from historically marginalised regions slowly unburden themselves from inherited histories and return to their stories with renewed pride. Mentors like @audreymaurion , @sleochiang , @huddlestonollie , @alejandro were joined online by Audrius Stonys, Sean McAllister and many more held the room with sincerity and generosity. As an alumna returning to mentor, I felt like a small current within a larger wave. From @abbypsun from @idaorg — a living library of documentary cinema — to @mandakinigahlot bringing @whickerawards @ktmdoclab international support, alongside @greenstoriespitch , @thehimalayanstorylab and other homegrown initiatives, a wider ecosystem of support and interdependence is slowly taking shape In a time when support for independent cinema grows scarcer, the very existence of Docedge feels like a small miracle.

DocedgeKolkata 26 is everything they say and more. Cheers to everyone who was there with us. From the mentors, our guests, participants, observers, volunteers and the team. DocedgeKolkata is YOU!