MIFF 2026, 2: Inaugural films
MIFF 2026, 2: Inaugural films
Before venturing out into its Peddar Road location, I could see 2 ½ films during the opening ceremony of MIFF, at Ravindra Natya Mandir. They were screened after the formal inauguration, at the hands of 2 ministers, Ashutosh Gowariker and actor Jaideep Ahlawat, by lighting the ceremonial multi flamed ‘diya’ (wick lamp), which is de rigueur at Indian official, and some private events. Being considered auspicious. The ½ is because I had gone out to grab a bite. After lunch, at around 1 pm, feel hunger pangs, around 6 pm, and treat myself to a snack and a cup of tea. The body nourishment done, I went back to the Hall, to view the films that formed the Opening package.
Three films were chosen for the première event.: Agapito (Philippines/France), Good Luck to You All (Canada) and Time and Water (Iceland). Agapito (2025), directed by Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Romeo, was shot in 4K, with an aspect ratio of 1:85:1. It is in the Tagalog language, the main tongue spoken in the Philippines. Since it is only 15 minutes in length, I assume I missed only about 7 minutes. But those 7 minutes were crucial. From what I saw, the film came out as a reality cum absurdity film, with a bunch of actors striking calisthenic poses and repeatedly singing “Go forth”. The synopsis says, “It's the last day of the month. Bowlers flock to the lanes of a bowling alley that has seen better days. Mira, the manager, decides to close early. She's awaiting the arrival of a special visitor.”
To try and understand whatever I managed to see, I read the directors’ statement, “This film is a letter to our loved ones. For Kyla, it is a profound dedication to her father — a man who balanced the weight of parenthood while running a multi-sport facility in Cavite, Philippines. To her, that sports hall was more than a place of business. It was a second home, a training ground not just for athletes but for a daughter — a woman, learning strength, resilience, and grace. For Arvin, it is a tribute to his younger brother, named Agapito Jr. — a person with special needs. Though they have shared happy moments, Arvin sometimes thought that, without his limitations, Agapito would probably join him in the film-making world.
The duckpin alley, for us, echoed with stories and memories from years past. It preserves its charm, in the way that it is untouched and unchanged by the rush of modern life. The workers there, albeit in unglamorous stations, were former duckpin athletes, who move with amazing precision and passion for the sport they love. We build worlds with those we love, in reality or in fantasy, wherever we go — even within the confines of a bygone duckpin alley.
This is our love letter. To our family. To memories. To the spaces where our passions and connections live on.” Reading this made it clear that it was an intensely personal film. On screen, I saw disjointed but carefully choreographed scenes, blending reality with fantasy.
Good Luck to You All (Canada, 2025, 8 min), written and directed by Cordell Barker, an animation film, where the narrative is told in the burlesque tradition. It is a cautionary tale on our generation’s latest shiny toy: artificial intelligence, AI). A young girl plays with her dolls and robots, unaware that she may hold the future of humanity in her sticky hands. Good Luck to You All is a burlesque cautionary tale on our latest shiny toy: artificial intelligence. As the voices of experts swirl around her, the question remains: Which is the bigger threat—artificial intelligence or human nature? The animation was really good. The National Film Board of Canada has a reputation for making very good animation films, and this one too met the standard. But the flow of the sequences taxes your brain, and the images flit past before you can make any sense of them. The message goes through, but you will have to keep pace with the high-octane unfolding. There some funny moments, but it is devoid of any linear narrative, and sometimes, it goes overboard. The main issue that differentiates human brains from AI is consciousness. But what if AI had consciousness? That’s trillion-dollar question.
Drawing from real-life interviews, Academy Award–nominated director Cordell Barker pairs expressive hand-drawn animation with a documentary-style soundscape, to craft a whimsical, yet cautionary fable, about power, responsibility and technological seduction. Cordell Barker knew who he was, from a very early age. For nearly 40 years, he’s been directing films that have left a lasting mark on the animation world, earning Oscar nominations for The Cat Came Back (1988) and Strange Invaders (2001). For some reason, all the pictures of the film on the Internet have been coded so as to not allow downloading, hence I cannot provide you with them. But the director’s picture is free from this restriction, so here it is.
A feature length documentary, Time and Water (Iceland, 93 min, fresh from 2026, director Sara Dosa) used a unique technique to highlight climate change in remote Iceland, and the melting of glaciers that are hundreds of years old. It combined the memories of three generations of a family, with their lives, in co-relation to the third coldest country in the world. Narrated by the family member, who is a writer, and is now in his 50s, this ‘freezingly’ cold film will warm the hearts of millions of viewers.
Everything is bigger in Iceland. The landscapes, the elements, the depth of time. This is where author Andri Snær Magnason grew up, and where he has lived and worked his entire life. Now he is experiencing something that no one in his family ever dreamed could happen: a dying glacier. The ice is melting, the climate is changing – and with it, everything has changed forever.
Sara Dosa (‘Fire of Love’, CPH:DOX 2022), joins forces with Andri, to create a beautiful, painful and existential film, about profound changes in both life and the world. When he loses his beloved grandparents, it is both the end of a chapter, and the beginning of a new one for the Icelandic author, with the rich inner life. His creative imagination, and deep love for his family and country, seep into every part of ‘Time and Water’, which is named after one of his books that unites science and art, in an attempt to comprehend the future that awaits us.
Highly recommended.
It was whispered in the corridors of Ravindra Natya Mandir that there is a dinner reception after the opening ceremony, at the President hotel, some 12 kms away. At all previous MIFFs, the media was invited to this dinner, which was often held in the premises of the Films Division. This year, NFDC decided to keep the media out. How it treated the media overall shall be dwelt upon in subsequent instalments.
In the next instalment, I will browse the fare on offer, and watch films at Audi 1 and Audi 2 at the National Museum of Indian Cinema, NFDC, Peddar Road.
