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‘Parchaave Massiah Raatan De’ (Shadows of the Moonless Nights), a short film directed by Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) student Mehar Malhotra, has been selected for La Cinef competitive section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. Malhotra’s 24-minute Panjabi language film competed in the segment alongside 14 live-action and five animated shorts by film school students from across the world. Malhotra’s film looks at both the systemic exhaustion produced by wage labor and urban living, and the psychological disorientation that comes from never fully being able to rest or switch off. The film follows a 26-year-old warehouse packer Rajan, who is stuck inside the loop of a night-shift job and a home where sleep is constantly interrupted during the day. The flickering factory lights, conveyor belts and endless boxes blur together the scene—as the repetitive work slowly wears him down. Dawn brings him back to his sister's cramped two-room flat, shared with her husband, daughter, and niece, where clinking vessels, dragged buckets, child chatter, and errands leave no space for rest again. Malhotra, originally from Ludhiana, says her own experience of battling sleeplessness triggered the idea for the film. Malhotra says, ‘I wanted to make ‘Shadows of the Moonless Nights’ because Rajan’s story felt like one we all carry but rarely name: the bone-deep fatigue of surviving a city that runs on sleeplessness.’ The film features actors Prayrak Mehta—from ‘Kohraa 2’ fame, Nikita Grover and Himanshu Kohli. The organizers said they received a total of 2,750 entries directed by 12 women and nine men from film schools around the world. The films in the category represent 15 countries. The only other Indian film at Cannes this year was the legendary Malayalam filmmaker John Abraham’s ‘Amma Ariyan’ (Report to Mother) from 1986. The film had its 4K restored version world-premiered at the festival and was the only Indian film in the Cannes Classic section. The 79th Cannes Film Festival ran from 12–23 May, 2026. Some of the award recipients took a strong stand against Israel’s genocide on Palestine with renowned director Ken Loach and Academy award winner Javier Bardem making powerful speeches. Bardem said he thinks the tide is turning in terms of speaking up for Palestine in Hollywood, adding, ‘Everyone is beginning to realize…This is unacceptable.’
Meher Malhotra & a shot from 'Shadows of a Sleepless Night' Photo by The Hindu
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