Kolkata filmmaker’s short ‘Aman’ wins top prize at 70th BFI London Film Festival

Kolkata-based filmmaker Rahul Roye’s short film Aman has won the best short film award at the 70th BFI London Film Festival, following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Written and directed by Roye, the film follows a trans man who discovers he is pregnant on the eve of his gender-affirming surgery, triggering a profound reckoning with identity, masculinity, fatherhood and his relationship with his own body.

Starring Kabir Maan and Sirat Taneja, Aman challenges conventional understandings of gender and parenthood. The jury, comprising Helen Simmons, Leo Reich and Jack Casey, praised the film’s treatment of complex themes and its nuanced storytelling.

“We were deeply impressed by Aman’s accomplished filmmaking, tackling knotty themes through authentic and nuanced characters we felt compelled to follow,” the jury said.

“We were struck by the film’s painterly cinematography, and expansive and assured storytelling, which guided us through the world with care. Aman’s finely drawn narrative is made all the more engrossing by the film’s refusal to provide easy answers to the complexities it presents us with,” it added.

Roye said the recognition at the festival's 70th edition was overwhelming. “At a time when trans lives are being politically erased, legislated against, and pushed to the margins all across the globe, this win feels particularly meaningful and important.”

Producer Neeraj Churi said the team was delighted with the film’s win, describing it as a deeply moving story that challenges conventional notions of identity, masculinity and parenthood.

“This is a deeply moving and courageous film that challenges our understanding of identity, masculinity and parenthood, while telling a profoundly human story. What makes this recognition particularly special is that the jury has celebrated not just the story, but the sensitivity, nuance and cinematic vision with which Rahul Roye has brought it to life.”

A UK-US-India-France co-production, Aman is produced by Elle León Nostas, Apoorva Bakshi, Churi, Tushar Tyagi and Abid Aziz Merchant. Dominique Welinski, Nikkhil Advani and Stephen Harmaty serve as executive producers.