Beyond the Red Carpet: South Asian Filmmakers Are Building a New Creative Economy at Cannes – Obnews
The Cannes Film Festival is often associated with movie stars, luxury fashion and the spectacle of the red carpet. Behind the cameras, however, a different story is unfolding. At the 2026 edition of Cannes, South Asian filmmakers, producers and cultural organizations strengthened their presence within the global film business through industry panels, documentary showcases, mentorship programmes and international collaborations.
Much of this activity took place at the Marché du Film, the film market held alongside the festival. The market brought together buyers, sales agents, producers, distributors and investors from around the world between May 12 and May 20. Its programme included more than 250 industry events, ranging from financing discussions and workshops to pitching sessions and works in progress showcases.
For South Asian creators, the importance of Cannes is no longer limited to visibility. The larger opportunity is access. A filmmaker with a culturally specific story may need international financing, a distribution agreement, a coproduction partner or support from an experienced producer before a project can reach audiences beyond its home market. Cannes offers an environment where those conversations can begin.
One of the most notable developments in 2026 was Tasveer’s official South Asian panel at the Marché du Film. The session, titled Reimagining Global Pathways and Financing for Stories That Travel, focused on the practical challenges facing filmmakers attempting to bring rooted, regional stories to international audiences.
Moderated by Tasveer cofounder and executive director Rita Meher, the panel brought together voices from cinema, technology and media research. Participants included Academy Award winning producer Guneet Monga Kapoor, South Stack Studios cofounder Anjana Gopakumar, Google researcher Arathi Sethumadhavan and Parrot Analytics partnerships executive Jaime Otero. Their discussion explored financing, international partnerships, audience demand and the role of emerging technology in the changing film economy.
The panel reflected a broader shift in how South Asian cinema is positioning itself. The conversation is no longer only about gaining representation within existing institutions. It is increasingly about creating the networks, financing pathways and distribution systems required for filmmakers to maintain ownership of their stories while reaching audiences around the world.
Women in Film India also expanded its international presence through an official partnership with the Marché du Film’s impACT Lab. The programme is designed to help producers build projects with strong social value while developing the knowledge and connections required for international coproductions. The lab promotes diversity, inclusion, representation, sustainability and equity within the film industry.
As part of the 2026 initiative, Indian producers Suruchi Sharma and Jasmin A. Singh were selected for the impACT Lab. Archana Borhade and Molshri Singh received Producers Network scholarships. The programme provided a meaningful opportunity for emerging Indian women producers to participate in professional workshops and connect with international decision makers.
Documentary filmmakers from Bangladesh also gained an important platform through Cannes Docs, a Marché du Film programme dedicated to strengthening the global documentary sector. Four Bangladeshi documentary projects were selected through a French supported initiative following an open call and jury evaluation process.
The selected projects included Opekkha by Kazi Arefin Ahmed, Blue Collars from the Frontline by Citto Aanondi, In Search of Her by S M Kamrul Ahsan and My Cousin by Sumon Delwar. Their inclusion demonstrated how documentary cinema can provide filmmakers with a way to bring stories of labour, identity, family and social change into international conversations.
Human centred documentaries often face a difficult road to completion. They may not have the commercial advantages of a major studio release, but they can carry enormous cultural value. Programmes such as Cannes Docs allow filmmakers to meet potential funders, broadcasters, distributors and creative partners who understand the importance of preserving stories that may otherwise remain unseen.
South Asian cinema also gained recognition within the official festival programme. Nepali filmmaker Abinash Bikram Shah’s debut feature Elephants in the Fog was selected for the Un Certain Regard section and received the Jury’s Prize. Set in a Nepalese village, the film follows the matriarch of a Kinnar community as she searches for a missing member of her family while confronting her own desire for freedom.
The film’s production model is as significant as its award. Elephants in the Fog was developed as an international coproduction involving Nepal, France, Germany, Brazil and Norway. It offers a clear example of how a locally grounded story can travel globally when filmmakers build partnerships without losing the cultural specificity that gives a project its strength.
The creative economy surrounding South Asian cinema is also becoming more diverse. Indian cinema remains an enormous force, but the larger regional story includes filmmakers from Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the global diaspora. It includes independent features, regional language films, documentaries, streaming projects, short films and socially focused productions that do not fit neatly within the traditional Bollywood model.
This matters for Canada, where South Asian communities have become an increasingly influential part of the country’s cultural landscape. Canadian audiences are not only consuming films from South Asia. Producers, artists, film festival organizers and media platforms across the diaspora are helping create new pathways for stories to travel between South Asia, North America, Europe and other global markets.
As Obnews continues to cover the growth of South Asian culture in Canada and around the world, the developments at Cannes reveal a deeper transformation. Success is no longer measured only by an invitation to walk the red carpet. It is also measured by the ability to secure financing, enter international markets, develop partnerships and create a sustainable future for the next generation of storytellers.
Cannes 2026 showed that South Asian filmmakers are not simply waiting for the global film industry to make room for them. They are building the infrastructure required to shape the future of cinema on their own terms.
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