by Bansari Paghdar I STIR World I Published on: Mar 5, 2025

Image credits: Nagari

Set on the convergence of architecture and filmmaking, the competition spotlighted India’s urban mobility issues, awarding the Mumbai-centric film Sundari as the winner.

The Nagari Short Film Competition, an annual initiative by the Charles Correa Foundation, invites architecture enthusiasts, filmmakers and other creatives working on these intersections to cinematically respond to issues related to a dynamic and amorphous urban India. A “bioscope for the city”, Nagari directs focus on the frail realities of urban living in the country that surround us, often neglected, forgotten or simply ignored. Since its inception in 2020, the competition has coined themes for filmmakers to explore and respond to, including housing adequacy, people and their livelihoods, interactions with water and reclaiming urban commons. For its fifth edition, Nagari spotlighted Mobility in Urban India, emphasising topics such as connectivity and growth, choices in commotion and commute (or the lack thereof), gender and social roles, environmental impact, the people behind mobility, smart mobility and associated infrastructure, among others. While the festival saw several entries from all over the country, Sundari, directed by Sudarshan Sawant—a film capturing the social and environmental impact of Mumbai’s infrastructure development through an eponymous ferry as a fantastical vessel for storytelling—was announced as the winner, receiving the Golden Bioscope Award at the award ceremony held on December 14, 2024, in Mumbai.

Read the full article here The Nagari Bioscope prompts cinematic explorations on ‘Mobility in Urban India’