Tribeny Rai's debut film Shape of Momo has bagged two awards at the recently concluded Busan International Film Festival
Rai said the film is a "layered and nuanced reflection on gender, class and the struggles of ordinary people to live on their own terms."
She also said that the festival gave "visibility and connected" them with "audiences who share cultural similarities in Asia"
Tribeny Rai's Nepali-language drama Shape of Momo was recently screened at the 2025 Busan International Film Festival. The film, which marks Rai's debut feature, presents an implacable portrait of women navigating societal pressures and patriarchal expectations. As per a report in PTI, it shone at the Busan Film Festival by bagging two awards: the Taipei Film Commission Award and the Songwon Vision Award in the Vision Section.
Tribeny Rai on winning awards at Busan International Film Festival
Expressing her excitement, Rai told the news agency, "Busan gave credibility to our work. It is special for a film from Sikkim, in Nepali, to be seen at such a platform. It gave visibility and connected us with audiences who share cultural similarities in Asia."
"We are over the moon that our film has won two awards at Busan, and I thank our incredible cast and crew for bringing this story to life," she added.
With awards or without them, "we would still be the same bunch of filmmakers – searching and persevering", the filmmaker said.
Rai also said that it came from a personal need to express herself. "Women from rural areas struggle to be independent, and when they do, they often feel caught between the city and the village," she said.
Rai said the film is more than her own story. "It is a layered and nuanced reflection on gender, class and the struggles of ordinary people to live on their own terms," she elaborated.
For her, the job is to be observant and like any other art form, cinema is a medium to get a deeper and closer understanding of what life is. "I also believe that cinema is not merely a spectacle or an escape; its essence lies in the smaller details that gradually reveal a larger universe," she added.
Rai thanked her team, Kislay, the co-writer, co-editor and one of the producers of the film, for helping her with the project.
On the challenges faced by independent filmmakers from Sikkim, she said, "I thought making the film would be the hardest part, but I have since learned that figuring out what to do with the film after making it can be even more difficult."
"Working with a limited budget had its own struggles but also some unique advantages, as it certainly forced us to be creative and resourceful," she added.
Rai developed to reading stories at a very young age, and her love for storytelling grew naturally, which led her to pursue filmmaking. "It was a series of influences and experiences that shaped this path," she said.
On her next project, Rai said she will continue to explore the nature of human beings, as it intrigues her the most currently.
