Dishant Pradhan
Set in the forests and mountains of Darjeeling, Dante Katha is an experimental mixed-media retelling of folktales from the Eastern Himalayas. Seen through the eyes of a girl whose little brother has recently gone missing, this film chronicles her fantastical encounters with various mysterious characters along the way. ‘Dante-Katha’ literally translates to ‘oral storytelling’ in Nepali. The film reimagines stories and dying traditions from the region, to uncover narratives of geopolitical significance, lost in time.
The film premiered at the Kathmandu Triennale 2077, and has been screened at various spaces including the Dharamshala International Film Festival, London Himalayan Film Festival, and Artist’s Cinema – Jaipur Center for Art (2025), and is also the winner of the Melo Film Fest, Darjeeling 2024.
Dishant Pradhan is an independent filmmaker from Ghayabari, Kurseong. He is currently a Faculty of Design at FLAME University, Pune, His work explores the intersections of culture, storytelling, and place.
Yashika Subba and Nikhil Regmi
‘Steward in Silence’ is a short ethnographic film that follows a mother and daughter whose ancestral stewardship of a nearby forestland in the tea gardens of the Darjeeling Himalaya spans generations. They might not speak of environmental crises in scientific terms, but know the native forest intimately. This deep ecological knowledge shared between people and their land and environment, is regarded as the most sacred and secure space from the local perspectives Despite this connection, they remain excluded from land ownership and decision-making. This film captures how indigenous communities navigate changing ties to land, culture and lived environmental struggles in the Himalaya.
Yashika and Nikhil are creative collaborators.
Yashika Subba is from Kharsang/Kurseong, she likes exploring places, people, and their interconnectedness with nature. Her work reflects an indigenous connection to the Eastern Himalaya, which continues to fuel her curiosity. She believes that visual storytelling can deeply move audiences, not only through imagery but also through the emotions and reflections that linger long after the film ends. Currently a Ph.D scholar (Anthropology) at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Dhanbad, she works on climate change and the experiences of mountain communities.
Nikhil Regmi is a Darjeeling-based video editor who loves telling stories about people and moments. His work spans ad films, documentaries, and a variety of projects across India. Deeply curious about how technology and creativity shape the world, he enjoys being part of a space where he can bring stories to life through the visual medium.
