Rima Das Not A Hero has secured a major international selection, with the Assamese filmmaker’s latest coming-of-age drama chosen for the 31st Busan International Film Festival in South Korea. The film is among six Indian titles selected for the festival’s A Window on Asian Cinema section, strengthening the presence of Indian independent cinema on a major global platform. The 31st edition of the festival will be held from October 6 to 15 at the Busan Cinema Center.
Rima Das Not A Hero heads to Busan
Rima Das Not A Hero will be screened in A Window on Asian Cinema, a prominent non-competitive section dedicated to new and notable works from across Asia. The selection gives the film an opportunity to reach international audiences, filmmakers and industry professionals at one of Asia’s major film festivals.
The film follows an 11-year-old boy named Mivan, who is sent from the city to his ancestral village. Used to the comforts and routines of urban life, Mivan initially struggles to adjust to his new surroundings. His experiences in the village gradually expose him to friendship, freedom, unfamiliar routines and a different way of understanding the world.
The story explores childhood, imagination and the tension between a child’s desire for freedom and the expectations imposed by adults. Das has described the film as an intimate story rooted in childhood and the small worlds children create around themselves.
A strong return for the Assamese filmmaker
The Busan selection marks another significant chapter in Rima Das’ relationship with the festival. Her earlier film Village Rockstars 2 premiered at Busan and went on to win the Kim Jiseok Award, adding to the filmmaker’s growing international reputation.
Das is known for films including Village Rockstars, Bulbul Can Sing and Tora’s Husband. Her cinema often focuses on ordinary lives, rural communities, childhood and personal relationships, with a strong emphasis on naturalistic storytelling.
Rima Das Not A Hero continues that approach by observing the emotional changes experienced by a child rather than relying on conventional dramatic devices. The film has also already received international recognition. It was presented in the Generation Kplus section of the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival, where it received a Special Mention.
Six Indian films selected
The Busan selection reflects the diversity of contemporary Indian cinema. Alongside Rima Das Not A Hero, the six Indian films chosen for A Window on Asian Cinema are Anuparna Roy’s Lovers in the Blue Light, Leo Thaddeus’ Malayalam feature Chevittorma (The Soul Whisperer), Vishwendra Singh’s Khoriya, Sahil Shah’s Birds on Ice and Sandeep Kumar Paul’s About an Intimate Matter.
Anuparna Roy is also set to serve on the festival’s shorts jury. Her film has received selection at both Busan and the Venice Film Festival, following her historic Best Director win at Venice for Songs of Forgotten Trees.
The Soul Whisperer, starring Dileesh Pothan and Pauly Valsan, is also part of the Busan programme. Meanwhile, Khoriya is a Nepali and Hindi-language drama about two half-brothers operating a poultry farm on the outskirts of Delhi NCR during a bird flu outbreak. The project previously received a post-production grant at the NFDC Waves Film Bazaar 2025 Work in Progress Lab.
Wider Indian presence at Busan
India’s presence at the 2026 festival extends beyond the six films in A Window on Asian Cinema. Sailesh Rathnakumar’s Selvi and Shashank Walia’s Birds in the Dark have been selected for the Vision Asia category. Promita Dhar’s Salt Electric has also been selected for the Wide Angle: Asian Short Film Competition.
This wider selection highlights the range of Indian stories being presented at Busan, from intimate personal dramas to films exploring migration, family, rural life and social change.
For Das, the latest selection further establishes her position among Indian filmmakers whose locally rooted stories have found audiences far beyond the country. Rima Das Not A Hero brings a distinctly intimate childhood story to Busan, continuing the director’s long-standing engagement with everyday lives and communities. With the festival scheduled for October, the film is poised to add another important international chapter to Das’ career.