Shashank Walia's 'Birds in the Dark' wins hearts in South Korea, bags Busan audience award

Filmmaker Shashank Walia's Punjabi rural drama 'Birds in the Dark', backed by filmmaker Hansal Mehta, has won the Songwon Vision Audience Award at the 2026 Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). The film received the recognition following its world premiere at the South Korean festival, where it competed in the Vision category.

The movie, titled 'Hanere de Panchhi' in Punjabi, was one of two Indian films selected for the category's 24-film line-up. The award, sponsored by the Songwon Culture Foundation, is presented to the film in the Vision section that receives the highest number of audience votes. It carries a cash prize of 10 million South Korean won, approximately Rs 7.1 lakh.

Shashank Walia dedicates award to Punjab villagers

Reacting to the win, Walia said the recognition belonged to the people who helped bring the film to life, particularly residents of five villages in Punjab who contributed to its making.

"I am deeply grateful that 'Birds in the Dark' has won the Audience Award at Busan. We have always thought of this as a people's film, and this recognition belongs, above all, to the people of the five villages in Punjab who came together to make it. We owe the film to them. This award is theirs.

"I dedicate it also to the workers and lovers of the world, and to everyone who still believes that love, mutual aid, and solidarity can bring us closer to a more just world. To the people of Busan: thank you for receiving our film with such warmth," Walia said in a statement.

Hansal Mehta celebrates film's reception in South Korea

Mehta, who backed the project through his production banner True Story Films, expressed pride in the award and the response the film received from Korean audiences.

"When an audience embraces a fresh voice, chooses subtlety over spectacle, and responds to a film about gender, labour, justice, love and resistance, you realise that as long as cinema like this lives on, there is hope in our world. This award fills me with that hope. I'm very proud of Shashank, Reema and their exceptional cast and crew. Their labour of love has begun its journey with a bang," he added.

Reema Kaur and Sahil Saigal are the film's other co-producers. 

What is 'Birds in the Dark' about?

Shot in black and white, the film explores sexuality, patriarchy, caste hierarchies and resistance among farming communities. Its narrative follows Jagtar, a disillusioned police informer who releases Amir, a Kashmiri Muslim man he has wrongfully detained, before returning to his village.

Watch trailer:

Back home, Jagtar reconnects with Raman, a wealthy landowner and his former lover. Meanwhile, his childhood friend Dilraj, a Dalit farm labourer and activist, leads a movement demanding rights for landless workers.

The film features Mauli Singh, Sapna Das, Harwinder Aujla, Shahnawaz Bhat and Navdeep Bajwa in key roles.

The 2026 Busan International Film Festival concludes on Thursday.