Shadowbox (Baksho Bondi)

Directed by Tanushree Das & Saumyananda Sahi | 2025 | India | Fiction | 93 minutes | Bengali & Hindi with English subtitles

Co-Presented by Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (MISAFF)

Box office opens at 7:30 PM

This brand-new feature, directed by Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi, delves into the ramifications of one family’s intense experience with mental health. It follows Maya, a multitasking mother who lives in Kolkata with her husband, Sundar, and their teenage son, Debu. She juggles three jobs as the family’s primary breadwinner, while also dealing with ostracization and neighbourhood rumours about Sundar, an unemployed ex-soldier suffering from PTSD. Debu is often left as his father’s primary caregiver, and the young man valiantly copes with feelings of affection and embarrassment in the face of his father’s daily struggles. After her husband disappears, Maya must fight to hold her family together in the face of an unexpected murder investigation and an unknown and very uncertain future. With highly engaging lead performances and a fresh perspective on both trauma and caregiving, Shadowbox is a poignant yet tense film that exposes prejudice and peels back the layers of obligation, love, and the complexities of relationships.

Keywords: Trauma, family, PTSD
Accessibility: Open Captions
Previous screenings: Berlinale

Director Bio
Tanushree Das graduated from the University of Calcutta with a Masters in English Literature, and began her career as a theatre person – directing as well as acting. In 2011 Tanushree graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, with a Diploma in Film Editing. Tanushree‘s work as an editor has been screened to critical acclaim in film festivals around the world, including at Berlin, Locarno, Rotterdam, Rome, Pingyao, Hot Docs and Busan.

Born in Bangalore, Saumyananda Sahi studied philosophy at St Stephens College, Delhi before attending the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Saumyananda has worked as a cinematographer on a variety of projects, both factual and fiction, which have gone on to screen and win awards at festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Locarno and Rotterdam. He has been nominated for an Asia Pacific Award, Filmfare Award and was selected for the BAFTA Breakthrough India programme in 2022. His recent work includes ‘All That Breathes’ (nominated for an Academy Award) and the Netflix series ‘Black Warrant’.

WITH SHORT FILM — Adieu Ugarit

Directed by Samy Benammar | 2025 | Quebec/Canada | Documentary  | 15 minutes

“In 2012, Mohamed had seen his best friend shot dead by an armed militia on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria; the blood spilled in the lake contaminated his memory. Ten years on, the reflections on the Laurentian waters revive Mohamed’s trauma. I ask him if he’d like to dredge up the memories, repair the pain by retreating for a few days to the most distressing calm he can find. He talks about death, immigration and anger. We wonder how and why we should recount this story.” – Samy Benammar

Location