Unspooling in Goa from 20-24 November, the Waves Film Bazaar hosted a raft of Indian fiction and non-fiction projects seeking new European and international partners. Here, we take a closer look at six of them.

Idiot - Stenzin Tankyong (India/France)
Writer-director Stenzin Tankyong, whose shorts Sekool and Last Days of Summer screened at Clermont-Ferrand and IFFR, is now developing his debut feature, Idiot (original title: Kakthet), the first Ladakhi narrative set in the nomadic grasslands of Changthang. Produced by White Crane Films and La Belle Affaire, the film blends humour and compassion to tackle the lack of educational opportunities in remote, high-altitude communities, following a mischievous Class 10 student whose academic failures threaten the survival of his village school. After the strong interest shown following its day-one pitch and its $10,000 Co-Production Market Award (see the news), the team noted that the recognition “makes us feel even more motivated and validated” as they seek co-producers, financiers, sales agents and distributors. Key cast members include Padma Namgail and Tsering Lhamo.

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Madam by Paromita Dhar

Madam – Paromita Dhar (India/Canada)
Madam, which received a $5,000 prize at the gathering, follows a domestic worker in a gated community who discovers a door to a parallel universe where the rich serve the poor – a mirrored world whose consequences begin to seep into her real life. Dhar says the film springs from “years of deep engagement with migration and labour”, and from a fascination with fable-like dualities running through folklore and Bollywood. Having lived most of her life in India, she is drawn to the hidden, in-between lives of domestic and migrant workers, whose identities are shaped by class, caste and constant displacement. While the film exposes exploitation, it is first and foremost a human drama exploring fantasies, agency and the shifting nature of power for those long denied it. Producing are Zero Degree Arts, Trikut Films, Dosomik Visions and Damned Films.

City of Illusions – Aranya Sahai (India)
Staged by Sauv Films and set in Mayapuri, Delhi, in 2010, the project revisits the real radiological accident triggered when Delhi University, rushing to clear space ahead of the Commonwealth Games, unknowingly sent an untraced nuclear device to Asia’s largest scrapyard. Mechanics, mistaking its Cobalt-60 rods for precious metal, broke them into hundreds of pieces and sold them across the city, setting off a silent, rapidly escalating emergency. Speaking to Cineuropa, Sahai emphasised that while the premise suggests an investigative thriller, his intention is to craft “a human drama, placing people at the heart of the narrative while events quietly unfold beneath”. He stressed the story’s global resonance, echoing themes explored in Humans in the Loop, and noted that the market “creates the perfect space” to shape the project and find the collaborators it needs. The team is currently seeking co-producers, financiers and early conversations with sales agents and programmers.

Swarnapuchhri by Ritwik Goswami

Swarnapuchhri – Ritwik Goswami (India)
This drama-thriller set along India’s Konkan coast follows Parvati, a 45-year-old fisherwoman whose life is upended when a proposed nuclear power plant threatens to uproot her community. As tensions rise and the village fractures, her son Vinya defiantly resists the encroachment and forms an unexpected bond with Mir, a Kashmiri refugee working as a security guard at the site. When Vinya mysteriously disappears, Parvati’s search becomes a haunting journey straddling the real and the mythical. The team noted that the “generous jury feedback” received at Film Bazaar reaffirmed their confidence in the script, which builds on the director’s earlier shorts exploring identity and community. With a budget of $463,145 ($115,786 of which is already in place), they have initiated talks with French and German co-producers and Indian equity financiers, and are now seeking partners, financiers and mentors aligned with the pic’s queerness and joy.

The Quill - Sankhajit Biswas (India)
Produced by Swaralipi Lipi, the pic unfolds during the misty winters of Jharkhand, as men from entirely different walks of life are found dead under eerie circumstances – as though impaled by giant porcupine quills. Freelance journalist Nandana and Tara, a trafficking survivor from a tribal community, descend into the thick, dark landscape to investigate the spreading terror. At Goa, the team said that being selected “gives validation and prestige”, noting strong interest despite the project being in early development. Based on a story by acclaimed Bengali writer Bani Basu, the film blends folkloric fantasy and thriller elements to explore feminine power and wish fulfilment. The producers are now seeking co-producers, financiers and sales agents, following promising initial meetings.

Night and Day by Ashok Veilou

Night and Day - Ashok Veilou (India)
Produced by Mindscape Films and Raging Films, the project is a haunting tale set in a remote mountain village in Manipur, where fear, superstition and generational silence shape everyday life. The story centres on Grandpa Pou, once a respected healer and now branded a witch, who lives in isolation with his granddaughter Sanai – herself burdened by an unplanned pregnancy and the stigma it imposes. When her lover disappears, old fears resurface, and Pou is accused of having caused the misfortune through dark rites. Forced to undergo a brutal trial to prove his innocence, he commits a profound act of love to seek justice for his granddaughter. Veilou said the film “comes from a place very close to my heart”, describing it as an attempt to preserve fading cultural memory while exploring universal bonds of love and courage. “We’re seeking co-producers, European collaborators, distributors and film funds that champion personal, culturally rooted and emotionally resonant cinema. Ideal partners will connect with the film’s indigenous world, its tender emotional core and its supernatural undercurrents. As we prepare for a short initial shoot in January 2026, we aim to build long-term partnerships that can support the film through production and its international journey,” added producer Shaunak Sur.