The Bengali-language drama will make its Australian premiere on August 14, highlighting IFFM’s focus on regional and independent cinema
Melbourne [Australia], July 20 : Acclaimed actor Tillotama Shome’s Bengali-language drama Baksho Bondi – Shadowbox will open the 16th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) on August 14, marking its Australian premiere after debuting at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, according to Variety.
The film is co-directed by debutants Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi, and stars Shome as Maya—a woman juggling multiple low-income jobs including house cleaning, chicken farming, and laundry pressing, while also caring for her teenage son and PTSD-afflicted husband.
The narrative takes a tense turn when Maya’s husband becomes a suspect in a murder investigation, further complicating her already fragile world.
“Baksho Bondi is incredibly close to my heart,” said Shome, who also serves as one of the film’s producers. “Playing Maya was a lesson in listening to silences, in discovering strength in small acts, and in understanding how quiet resilience shapes women’s lives in a world that often overlooks them.”
Festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange praised the film as “a perfect start for the 2025 edition,” emphasizing IFFM’s commitment to supporting regional and independent Indian cinema. “Tillotama Shome’s performance as Maya is nothing short of extraordinary, and Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi have crafted a tender, honest, and visually stunning film that resonates with the spirit of resilience and hope,” Lange told Variety.
IFFM 2025 will also feature a strong regional slate. Highlights include:
- Village Rockstars 2 by Rima Das, a sequel to the Busan-winning original, following teenage guitarist Dhunu’s struggle to balance music and family duties.
- Feminichi Fathima by Fasil Muhammed, chronicling a Ponnani housewife’s symbolic fight for autonomy over a mattress.
- Humans in the Loop by Aranya Sahay, about a divorced Adivasi woman working as an AI data labeller.
- Boong by Lakshmipriya Devi, an Asia Pacific Screen Award winner about a boy in Manipur seeking his absent father.
- We Are Faheem & Karun by Onir, which explores a forbidden romance in remote Kashmir.
- Angammal by Vipin Radhakrishnan, a Tamil-language film about a son embarrassed by his mother’s traditional attire.
- Parikrama by Goutam Ghose, interweaving the stories of an Italian documentarian and a displaced Indian village boy along the Narmada River.
Supported by the Victorian Government, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will run until August 24. The prestigious IFFM Awards ceremony will be held on August 15, celebrating outstanding achievements in film and digital media.