Variety·Vishal Bhardwaj, Shaunak Sen-Mentored Co-Production Fund Picks Ladakh-Set ‘Kakthet’ as Winner (EXCLUSIVE)
Stenzin Tankyong’s debut feature “Kakthet” (Idiot), set in the remote high-altitude region of Ladakh, has been selected as the winner of the inaugural INR40 lakh ($42,000) feature film co-production fund run by Humans of Cinema and Safarnaama Pictures.
The Ladakhi-language project was selected from nearly 400 entries after an extensive screening and evaluation process.
The film follows the precarious future of a government school and the community around it – both dependent on one reluctant grade 10 student who has never passed an exam, and whose teachers must attempt the impossible: save the school by saving the one student determined not to be saved.
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Tankyong has spent eight years making films that bring Ladakh’s stories, landscapes and culture to international audiences. His short films “Sekool” (2019) and “Last Days of Summer” (2023) have screened at festivals including the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and the Dharamshala International Film Festival.
“Kakthet” is produced by Ritu Sarin and Rajesh Thanickan, alongside French co-producers La Belle Affaire Productions. A filmmaker and producer whose career spans more than 30 years, Sarin co-founded both White Crane Films and the Dharamshala International Film Festival.