“TheStorm,TheCalm,TheMadness,TheMagic”becomes the first Indian filme verselectedin the Straight8 Top8; PremieresatCannes2025!
Mumbai/London/Cannes-May2025
Indian 8mm film “The Storm, The Calm, The Madness, The Magic,” written & directed byNiharPalwe,hasbeenofficiallyselectedasoneoftheTop8filmsgloballyintheprestigiousStraight 8 competition. The film will have its Cannes Premiere during the Cannes FilmFestivalonMay19,2025atCinemaOlympia,CannesfollowedbyitsWorldPremiereatBFIIMAXin London on May 24.
Straight 8 is a legendary UK based filmmaking challenge where participants must shoot afilmonasingleSuper8mmcartridge,editedentirelyin-camera,withsoundsubmittedblind.Nopost-production,noretakes,justpure,instinctivestorytelling.Outofhundredsofentriesfromaroundtheworld,onlythetop8areselectedforpremiereatCannes.
This marks the first time in over 25 years of the competition that an Indian film has evermadeittoStraight8’sTop8sinceitsinception,breakingnewgroundforIndianfilmmakersinthe experimental, analog space.
“This is a huge moment, not just personally, but for Indian cinema as a whole. It’s anhonour to represent the country on such an unfiltered, global platform,” saidwriter/directorNiharPalwe,whoalsorunsMumbai-basedproductionhouseDesiCutProductions.
The soundscape is as crucial as the visuals in this film. The music was composed byAdithAnande,whoscoredtheentirefilmblindly,withouteverseeingasingleframe,achallengeinitself,andonehemet withincredibleemotionalclarity.
“Composingwithoutthevisualswasterrifyingatfirst,butonceIleanedintotheunknown,itbecame deeply emotional. I had to feel what the film might be, not see it,” said AdithAnande,Music Composer.
ThefilmstarsPritKamani(MiddleClassLove,Maska)andAditiSandhyaSharma(Fighter,Deva), two rising talents in mainstream Hindi cinema, who took on the extraordinarychallenge of performing with no second takes and no playback. In a format where everymovement, glance, and emotion had to land in a single shot, their deeply internalperformances bring tenderness and quiet strength to a story about purpose, illusion andfinding meaning in chaos.
The role of the antagonist is played by Surender Thakur, whose intense physical presenceand grounded performance bring powerful contrast to the protagonist’s vulnerability. Hisscenes,shotinasingletakewithnocuts,demandednotjustprecision,butpureinstinctanddiscipline,and hedelivered bothwith remarkablerestraint.
Thefilm’scinematographer,LeslieD’Souza,executedthedirector’svisionusingonlythecamera’s built-in viewfinder, making each shot a single attempt at visual storytelling. Noplayback,noretakes. Justraw, analogrisk.
The film was shot on an original USSR-era Zenit Quarz 1x8S-2 Super 8 camera, abeautifullypreservedpieceofengineeringfromthebygoneera.Everyframewasexposedmanually,
withnomonitororplayback,justinstinctandtrust.
The project was brought to life by Executive Producer Yash Barua, whose steady handhelpednavigatethefilm’smanycreativeandlogisticalchallenges.Hispresencebehindthescenesenabledthefilm’s bold,analogvision toreachthe worldstage.
ThecastwasbroughttogetherbyAshishKumarManghnani(CastingWaala),whoplayedacrucialrolein shapingthe film’son-screen energy.
Athislowest,withnothingleft,aglimpseofherearringssparksafirewithin:Apurpose?Or just another illusion?
Shot on a single roll of 8mm film. The film’s story, shot entirely in sequence with nopost production, captures themes of chaos, serenity, and artistic surrender, mirroringthevery nature ofthe Straight 8 format.
ThefilmwasmadeinassociationwithHarkatStudios,aninternationalboutiqueartsstudioand alternative performance space based in Mumbai and Berlin. Harkat is known for itscommitment to analog filmmaking, hosting events like the 16mm Film Festival, andsupportingexperimentalcinemathroughitsartist-runfilmlabandcommunityinitiatives.
ScreeningDates:
May19,2025-CinemaOlympia,Cannes|Straight8Top8CannesPremiere
May24,2025-BFIIMAX,London|WorldPremiere