U for Usha (U Ushacha)

Trailer

Dir: Rohan Kanawade | Marathi with English Subtitles | 22 min.

Usha, a single mother who works as a farm laborer in rural India, finds herself drawn to a female teacher of local primary school, in ways she never knew possible. This attraction plays an important part, in firing her passion to read and write as she hopes to be as good as the teacher, one day.

‘U Ushacha’ is a subtle portrayal of sexual awakening, as well as how a naïve attraction can empower a woman to take control of her life, and make each day, something to look forward to.

Selected festival selections and awards:

Satyajit Ray Short Film Award 10th Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival, UK, 2019.

2nd Runner Up Audience Choice Award 29th Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival, Canada, 2019.

Best Short Film Jury Award 30th Hong Kong Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, 2019.

Best LGBT Short 30th Season of Calcutta International Cult Film Festival, India, 2019.

Best Short Film 8th Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival, Mississauga, Canada, 2019.

Best Short Film LGBT Category 20th Season of Virgin Spring Cinefest, Kolkata, India, 2019.

Special Mention 2nd Nagaon International Short and Documentary Film Festival, 2019.

“Queer Mixtape Audience Award” 4th Queer Film Festival Munich, Germany, 2019 and OPENING FILM for the festival’s 2020 edition.

Best Female Performance & Special Award 4th Filmingo International Short Film Festival, Mumbai, India, 2020.

Best Actress Award 10th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival, Delhi, India, 2020.

13th Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival, Cardiff, UK, 2019.

34th Lovers Film Festival: Torino LGBTQI Visions, Italy, 2019 (World Premiere).

19th New York Indian Film Festival, USA, 2019.

10th Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, India, 2019.

31st Vancouver Queer Film Festival, Canada, 2019.

26th Long Beach QFilm Festival, California, USA, 2019.

Bay Area South Asian Film Festival, San Francisco, USA, 2019.

10th Bangalore International Queer Film Festival, India, 2019.

10th Chicago South Asian Film Festival, Chicago, USA, 2019.

12th Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs LGBTQ Film Festival, USA, 2019.

14th Tasveer South Asian Film Festival, Seattle, USA, 2019.

32nd Out On film: Atalanta’s LGBT Film Festival, USA, 2019.

34th Reel Q: Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival, USA, 2019.

30th Reel Pride LGBT Film Festival, 2019, Fresno, California, USA, 2019.

30th Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Florida, USA, 2019.

14th SiGNS Film Festival, Thrissur, India, 2019.

24th LesGaiCineMad, Madrid International LGBTIQ Film Festival, Spain, 2019.

25th Chéries-Chéris Festival, Paris, France, 2019.

11th International Queer Film Festival Merlinka, Serbia, 2019.

8th Dharamshala International Film Festival, India, 2019.

8th Smita Patil Documentary and Short Film Festival, Pune, India, 2019.

12th Jaipur International Film Festival, India, 2020.

9th Pink Life QueerFest, Istanbul, Turkey 2020.

Imagine India International Film Festival XIX Edition, Madrid, Spain, 2020.

20th CinHomo International LGBT Film Festival, Valladolid, Spain, 2020.

36th Wicked Queer: The Boston LGBTQ+ Film Festival, USA, 2020.

9th Kolkata Shorts International Film Festival, India, 2020.