CineSparks Ultrashorts Contest

The CineSparks Ultrashort Film Contest, held as part of the 6th Indic Film Utsav, brought together an experienced panel of filmmakers, educators, producers and critics to evaluate emerging talent. The contest followed a two-stage process, with separate Jury Boards responsible for selecting the top eight films and determining the winner and runner-up at the Grand Finale.

The remote evaluation and selection of the Top 8 Ultrashort Films was undertaken by filmmaker Bhaskar Maurya, known for Muthayya and Sivarapalli; filmmaker Kiranmayi Indraganti, director of Rallallo Neeru and professor at Srishti Institute of Art, Bengaluru; and director-writer Kireet Khurana, whose work includes T for Taj Mahal and Invisible Visible.

The Grand Finale live evaluation was conducted by producer Hari Charana Prasad, known for Joyland and Kamli; Nikita Hattangady, Head of Programming for Indic Film Utsav; and internationally recognised film critic Kirk Fernwood of OneFilmFan.com.

Together, the two panels brought diverse professional perspectives to the evaluation process, with a focus on originality, storytelling and cinematic impact.

Center for Indic Films and 6 Elements Productions thank all the jury members for their time, thoughtful assessment and contribution to the CineSparks Ultrashort Film Contest. Their involvement helped strengthen a platform dedicated to encouraging emerging filmmakers and independent cinematic voices.