Awards Go To ‘Mayilaa,’ ‘The Gymnasts Of Fisherman Colony’ And More At Seattle’s Tasveer film Festival

The Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle has wrapped its 21^st edition with the announcement of awards in multiple categories.

Mayilaa, a drama directed by Semmalar Annam, won the Jury Award for Best Feature Narrative. The film starring P. Melody Dorcas, Geetha Kailasam, Shudar Kodi, and Sathya Maruthani tells a mother-daughter tale of “a novice saleswoman [who] travels South India to meet financial needs, despite having no sales experience.”

Mayilaa has also screened at Dharamshala International Film Festival in northern India, the Singapore International Film Festival, and International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony, directed by Habiba Nosheen, won the Jury Award for Best Feature Documentary. The film centers on young women pursuing gymnastics in an area of Pakistan where such an athletic activity is uncommon for girls. As Deadline reported earlier this month, the documentary is executive produced by Mariska Hargitay, Trish Adlesic, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai. Hargitay noted, “When we first learned about these young girls and their lives from director Habiba Nosheen, my producing partner, Trish Adlesic, and I knew we wanted to help ensure that their story would reach audiences around the world.”

The Jury Award for Best Short went to The Last Glance, directed by Kamran Faiq and starring Adnan Shah Tipu and Areej Ayub Hussain.

Tasveer, which ran from October 13–18, showcased 136 films from 16 countries across more than 25 languages, including 20 World Premieres, 4 North American Premieres, and 4 U.S. Premieres. The festival notes, “The 2026 program included powerful storytelling by female directors, groundbreaking animation, an impressive slate of sports-centric cinema, and one of the festival’s strongest LGBTQ+ lineups to date.”

“Each film in this year’s lineup came to us carrying someone’s whole world,” noted Tasveer Executive Director Rita Meher. “Our role is to welcome it home, with a stage, a room full of industry, and real opportunities to go further. Watching filmmakers meet their audience and the people who can champion their work is exactly why we do this.”

Juried award winners were selected by a panel including Jury Lead Aparna Purohit (CEO of Aamir Khan Productions); James Longley (two-time Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker); Nekisa Cooper (former Head of Content at MasterClass, and president of the board of directors at Chicken & Egg Films), and Warren Etheredge (producer, film educator at the University of Washington, and co-founder of the Walla Walla Movie Crush).

“Some stories move us through their intimacy; others through their reflection of the world around us,” commented Jury Lead Aparna Purohit. “The films we considered at Tasveer did both, confronting the socio-political realities of our time with courage, sensitivity and remarkable cinematic vision.

“As Head of the Jury, it was a privilege and responsibility to engage with such a rich range of perspectives. I was deeply moved by the filmmakers’ honesty, diversity and ambition, and grateful to my fellow jurors for the thoughtful, open conversations that shaped our deliberations. I am delighted that Tasveer continues to give South Asian stories a platform to cross borders and resonate with audiences and communities worldwide. This experience reaffirmed why cinema matters: it reflects our world, challenges our assumptions and brings us closer to lives beyond our own, fostering greater empathy.”

The third annual Tasveer Film Market, “North America’s only industry platform dedicated to South Asian and diasporic cinema,” distributed $170,000 in awards across three competitive pitch events.

In its seventh year, the Tasveer Film Fund awarded $35,000 each to four original short film projects:

• The Blue House – Red Reddy
• Friendforhire.com – Nishanth R
• Ghusl – Ambarien Alqadar
• Planned Parenthood – Rahul Chaturvedi

The closing ceremony featured the announcement of the following award winners:

Jury Awards

Best Short: The Last Glance

Best Feature Narrative: Mayilaa

Best Feature Documentary: The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony

Audience Choice Awards

Best Documentary Short: Salam Shalom

Best Documentary Feature: 49-51

Best Narrative Short: We Were Here

Best Narrative Feature: Never Had a Chance

Choice Awards

Best Social Justice Film: Flowers of Acacia

Best Animation: The Hidden Side of the Moon

Best LGBTQIA+: Aman

Best Editing: Upon Starvation

Best Director (Priyankar Patra): Early Days

Best Actor (Male) (Chiranjit Biswas): Delupi Best Actor (Female) (Mahek): Mother Tongue