A small film from the mountains of Ladakh just beat out nearly 400 other scripts to win a brand new Indian film fund.
Stenzin Tankyong's Ladakhi-language feature Kakthet, which means "Idiot," has won the inaugural Humans of Cinema and Safarnaama Pictures Co-Production Fund, the companies announced, with Variety reporting the news on Oct. 28, 2026. The debut film will receive ₹40 lakh, about $42,000, along with mentorship from filmmakers Vishal Bhardwaj and Shaunak Sen.
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How Kakthet beat nearly 400 entries for the Humans of Cinema fund
The competition was steep. Organizers say close to 400 filmmakers submitted projects hoping to win this first-ever fund. Only one would walk away with the prize, and judges picked Kakthet after looking closely at its script, its voice, and how well it captured a specific place and culture rarely seen on screen.
Set in Ladakh's remote, high-altitude terrain, the film stood out partly because of where it comes from. Ladakh is a mountainous region in northern India, and stories told in its native language rarely get this kind of national attention. Tankyong wrote and directed the project himself, marking his first full-length feature after working in shorter formats.
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What winning the Kakthet Humans of Cinema Safarnaama Pictures fund actually includes
This is not a simple check-and-goodbye grant. Humans of Cinema describes the award as a full co-production partnership. That means the organization and Safarnaama Pictures stay involved through development, the actual shoot, and later distribution, rather than stepping away once the money changes hands.
According to the fund's own materials, the ₹40 lakh is meant as a co-production contribution, not necessarily the entire budget. "If the total budget exceeds this amount, additional producers or financiers can be brought on board," the fund states. Kiterabbit Films is also listed as a supporting partner on the project.
Shaunak Sen has taken on the role of executive producer for Kakthet, giving the film a senior industry figure attached well beyond the mentorship stage. Sen is known internationally for his documentary work, including Cities of Sleep and All That Breathes. Vishal Bhardwaj, the other named mentor, built his reputation on narrative features like Maqbool, Omkara, and Haider. Together, the two bring very different strengths to the table, one rooted in documentary realism and the other in sharp, literary storytelling.
Why Humans of Cinema launched this fund in the first place
Humans of Cinema and Safarnaama Pictures launched the initiative back in May 2026 to tackle a problem many young Indian filmmakers face: money and industry access. The fund targeted projects still in script or early development stages, not finished films looking for distribution.
Applications opened on May 15 and closed June 30, 2026. Any Indian citizen aged 18 or older could apply, as long as they had directed at least two short films or one feature. From the start, organizers planned to pick just a single winner, which made the odds tough from day one.
The selection jury brought together people from different corners of the industry. Actor Imran Khan, filmmaker Arati Kadav, author and festival programmer Aseem Chhabra, and producer Aman Mann all sat on the panel. A launch statement carried by Cinema Express said the mentors would help the winning filmmaker secure not just funding but also the right festival and distribution connections.
What Kakthet's win means for regional Indian cinema
The choice of Kakthet says something about where Indian film funding might be heading. Instead of backing another Mumbai-centered story, the jury chose a film shot in a language and landscape most Indian moviegoers rarely encounter. That is a deliberate bet on regional storytelling finding a wider audience.
There are signs the project already had momentum before this win. Public producer records describe Kakthet as an India-France co-production between White Crane Films and La Belle Affaire Productions, a French company. The same records mention a WAVES Film Bazaar 2025 Co-Production Features Grant and a selection at the Asian Project Market in Busan in 2026. These details come from a professional profile rather than an official festival statement, so they deserve confirmation directly from the filmmakers before being treated as settled fact.
The road ahead for Stenzin Tankyong's debut feature
No official start date for shooting has been announced yet, and there's no confirmed cast, final budget, or release date on record. What is confirmed is the structure supporting the film going forward. Humans of Cinema and Safarnaama Pictures have committed to staying involved through production and into distribution planning, not just handing over the award money.
Sen's role as executive producer could matter a lot here, especially if the film aims for international festivals the way its reported France co-production link suggests. Combined with mentorship from Bhardwaj, the backing gives Tankyong resources that most debut filmmakers in India simply don't get. For now, the industry will be watching to see how a quiet, high-altitude story written in Ladakhi moves from funded script to finished film.
