BENGALURU: Bengaluru-based independent filmmaker Anooya Swamy’s debut short film ‘Pankaja’ has been officially selected for screening at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. This marks the first-ever Kannada short film by a Bangalorean director to screen at the prestigious global platform.
Born and raised in Bengaluru, 26-year-old Swamy’s film draws deeply from her personal world, particularly her relationship with her mother, to tell a story that is both intimate and a social commentary.
‘Pankaja’ follows a young woman searching for her husband, a migrant labourer who has been missing for three days. As the search unfolds, the film reveals the murky ecosystem surrounding illegal work, labour exploitation and everyday corruption, set against real locations, including an operational police station and a quarry located near a water body.
Shot largely in areas such as Agara and Malleshwaram, the film was completed with a predominantly Bengaluru-based crew, with Swamy describing the experience as her “first time truly shooting at home”.
The cast included first-time actors, including a young child, with the writing process evolving collaboratively alongside the performers. Blending fiction with documentary-style realism, Swamy describes the film as forcing characters and audiences into uncomfortable moral spaces.
Swamy is currently pursuing a four-year filmmaking programme at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she also worked as a teaching assistant to Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee. She is a Sundance Institute Ignite x Adobe Fellow and has received multiple international scholarships, including the BAFTA and Ang Lee scholarships.
Speaking about the film selection, Swamy said the moment felt “surreal,” adding that she was grateful and excited to share a Bengaluru rooted story on a global stage. Pankaja, completed over a year, explores grief, guilt and moral ambiguity with humour and humanity.