Shawrya

Presenting our new poster! We are amazed by this hand-drawn piece from Camila Parra Norato @camilaparranorato which has been over a year in the making. Drawing from the Jangarh painting tradition of Central India and classical zoological illustration, the poster continues our exploration of animal bodies that extend beyond the confines of the zoo enclosure. #posterdesign #filmposter #shortfilm

Honoured to share that Amma, Do Giraffes Cry? has been nominated for the Best Short Film Award at the Doc Alliance Awards 2026. A huge thank you to @millenniumdocsagainstgravity for selecting and nominating the film. The Doc Alliance Awards bring together eight major European documentary festivals, each nominating one film for this recognition. It’s a collective platform that highlights some of the most exciting voices in contemporary documentary cinema. The winner will be announced at Cannes Docs, Marché du Film, during the Cannes Film Festival. @docalliance @cannes.docs @famuinternational @famu_films #docalliance #ammadogiraffescry #documentaryfilm #cannesdocs

We have two reasons to be at Cannes this year 🩷🔵 Amma, Do Giraffes Cry? has been invited to the Cannes Short Film Corner as part of a special Visions du Réel Presents section. The film will participate in industry events at the Marché du Film alongside a selection of films from this year’s edition of Opening Scenes at Visions du Réel. Secondly, the film has also been nominated for the Doc Alliance Award, one of Europe’s most important recognitions for documentary cinema, presented annually by a network of leading documentary festivals across the continent. The award ceremony will take place at Cannes Docs @marchedufilm on 19 May. Please feel free to reach out to the director @kartikeya.saxena if you’ll be at the festival! @docalliance @cannes.docs @visionsdureel

Happy to announce that Amma, Do Giraffes Cry? will have its Dutch premiere at Leiden Shorts @leidenshorts ✨ The film will screen as part of the Brand New Eyes competition, in a programme titled 'All About My Mother.' We’re honoured by this invitation from Leiden Shorts whose programming consistently creates space for daring and unconventional cinematic voices. #leidenshorts #documentary

Still buzzing from our world premiere at Visions du Réel ✨ A big thank you to the programmers and organisers for the most incredible festival experience. We leave Nyon so inspired and energised! We saw some amazing films in the programme, especially within our Opening Scenes section. It was an honour to present our film alongside such a wonderful group of filmmakers, who we now get to call friends. A special thank you to @mila_lotas and @danielasadifaezi for guiding us throughout the festival, and for such a warm and generous Q&A. @visionsdureel Finally, huge thanks to our school @famuinternational for their constant support throughout this ongoing journey!

🇵🇱 Screening dates announced We’re excited to share that Amma, Do Giraffes Cry? will be screening across multiple cities in Poland at Millennium Docs Against Gravity 2026. Tickets are now available on the MDAG website, or accessible via accreditation! . . . #AmmaDoGiraffesCry #MDAG2026 #DocFilm #ShortDocumentary #FilmScreening

2 days to our world premiere. 20th April 18.30 at @visionsdureel Presenting the trailer of Amma, Do Giraffes Cry? In this love letter to his zoologist mother, a filmmaker describes to her the mysterious lives of the captive animals he encounters at the Prague Zoo. #trailer #shortfilm #visionsdureel

Presenting the first poster for Amma, Do Giraffes Cry? designed by @ankitkapoor96 World Premiere at Visions du Réel 2026 on April 20 #filmposter #shortfilm #documentary

We are honoured to share that Amma, Do Giraffes Cry? has been selected for the Short Film Competition at Millennium Docs Against Gravity 2026. This feels like a full circle moment for the film, returning to the festival after our work-in-progress pitch last year. Grateful to the programming team for recognising and supporting the film’s journey. The film will have 10 screenings across cinemas in multiple cities in Poland from 8–17 May. We’re especially excited to witness Amma… at the grand Kinoteka in the Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw! @millenniumdocsagainstgravity @famuinternational @famu_films #millenniumdocsagainstgravity #documentaryfilm #filmfestival

The motion poster for 'Amma, Do Giraffes Cry?' by @kartikeya.saxena This personal ecological story draws on Kartikeya's memories of having spent his childhood in the forests of central India with his zoologist mother. @visionsdureel described the film as "somewhere between memories, projections and scientific rigour [that] closes the distance between son and mother, animal and human." The film will have its world premiere in the festival's Opening Scenes Competition in April 2026. Screening dates to be announced soon! #shortfilm #documentary #ecological

I am beyond thrilled to announce that Amma, Do Giraffes Cry? will have its world premiere at the prestigious Visions du Réel film festival in Nyon, Switzerland. The film will feature in the festival’s Opening Scenes competition. The festival is scheduled to take place from 19th-26th April, 2026. Thanks to @visionsdureel for bringing our film to the world! This hypnotic meditation on captive animals and humans captivated by memory has been 2 years in the making. The film is an ode to my relationship with my mother, a zoologist, and all the time we have spent with the animal world over the years. Immense gratitude to all my collaborators without whom this would’ve remained a distant dream. voice of amma and co-writer - @rashmisaxena1410 cinematographer - @ya_qing editor - @shawryakumar sound designer - @devraj_be sound mixing - Pavel Matyas, @sleepwalkersound production sound mixer - Josef Korbel, Hugo Hauskrecht production manager - @anetaskalicka marketing supervisor - @rubychen.117 writer-director-producer-colourist - @kartikeya.saxena A huge thanks to my school @famuinternational and mentor @prochazka_radim for their constant support over the past two years. Big thanks to @institute_of_documentary_film for their trust in the early stages of this film and selecting us to pitch at @millenniumdocsagainstgravity last year. Finally, the biggest hug to my classmates, my partners-in-crime for always being a part of this journey.